Braamfontein Spruit Ecological Corridor

Florence D. Hancock and Annabelle Lucas
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Species source document

Ferns of the Witwatersrand

Ferns of the Witwatersrand is a beautifully illustrated guide to identifying and appreciating the 32 species of ferns found in the area. Ferns are not commonly associated with the grasslands or savanna of the interior, but find moist and shaded conditions in kloofs, along rivers and wetland areas. This book successfully argues for the place of ferns in our imagination of our environment here, and for their appreciation regenerating our environment inside the urban landscape.

The area it covers is Nigel in the east, Randfontein in the west, Halfway House and Krugersdorp dolomites in the north, and Klip River and Klipspruit as far as Olifantsvlei and Van Wyk's Rust in the south.

Note: Isoëtes giessii was also listed in this book but not imported, as we could not find enough information on it that indicates it occurs in Gauteng.

Illustrated by Barbara Pike and Patsy-Lynne Edkins
Witwatersrand University Press, Johannesburg, 1973

Linked species

The following 33 species were imported from this document.
Name Form Wildlife Aspect Habitats
Black Maidenhair Fern
Adiantum capillus-veneris
Fern Fern Shade Near water
Mexican Maidenhair Fern
Adiantum poiretii poiretii
Fern Fern Shade Near water
Grassveld Tree Fern
Alsophila dregei
Fern Fern Tree Semi-shade Shade Sun Near water Soil: loam Soil: sandy
Scented Fern
Anemia caffrorum
Fern Fern Semi-shade Shade Rocky habitat
Asplenium adiantum-nigrum Fern Fern Shade Near water Rocky habitat
African Spleenwort
Asplenium aethiopicum
Fern Fern Shade Near water Rocky habitat
Scaly Fern
Asplenium cordatum
Fern Fern Shade Rocky habitat
Pointed Hard Fern
Blechnum attenuatum giganteum
Fern Fern Shade Near water Rocky habitat
Southern Hard Fern
Blechnum australe
Fern Fern Shade Near water
Silver Fern
Cerosora argentea
Fern Fern Semi-shade Shade Near water Rocky habitat
Dolomite Lipfern
Cheilanthes dolomiticola
Fern Fern Semi-shade Sun Rocky habitat
Resurrection Fern
Cheilanthes eckloniana
Fern Fern Semi-shade Sun Rocky habitat
Cheilanthes involuta involuta Fern Fern Semi-shade Shade Near water Rocky habitat
Hard Lip Fern
Cheilanthes viridis glauca
Fern Fern Semi-shade Shade Rocky habitat
Grassland Fern
Dryopteris athamantica
Fern Fern Semi-shade Shade Rocky habitat
Thin-stemmed Forest Fern
Dryopteris inaequalis inaequalis
Fern Fern Shade Near water Rocky habitat
Branched Horsetail
Equisetum ramosissimum
Fern Fern Semi-shade Shade Near water
Woolly Lipfern
Hemionitis hirta
Fern Fern Semi-shade Shade Rocky habitat
Cluster Fern
Hemionitis multifida
Fern Fern Semi-shade Sun Near water Rocky habitat
Four-pinnate Lip Fern
Hemionitis quadripinnata
Fern Fern Semi-shade Sun Rocky habitat
Green Cliff Brake
Hemionitis viridis viridis
Fern Fern Semi-shade Shade Near water Rocky habitat
Staghorn Clubmoss
Lycopodiella cernua
Fern Fern Shade Near water
Marsilea macrocarpa Fern Fern Grazers/browsers Shade In water
Common Adders-tongue
Ophioglossum polyphyllum
Fern Fern Semi-shade Sun Near water
Southern Adder's-tongue
Ophioglossum vulgatum
Fern Fern Semi-shade Sun Near water
American Royal Fern
Osmunda regalis
Fern Fern Perennial Perennial Semi-shade Shade Sun In water Near water Rocky habitat Soil: clay Soil: loam
Hard Fern
Pellaea calomelanos calomelanos
Fern Fern Semi-shade Shade Rocky habitat
Common Bracken
Pteridium aquilinum aquilinum
Fern Fern Semi-shade Shade
Cretan Brake
Pteris cretica
Fern Fern Shade Near water Rocky habitat
Ladder Brake
Pteris vittata
Fern Fern Shade Near water
Drege's Spikemoss
Selaginella dregei
Fern Fern Sun Rocky habitat
Mitten's Spikemoss
Selaginella mittenii
Fern Fern Shade Near water Rocky habitat
Swamp Fern
Thelypteris confluens
Fern Fern Shade Near water

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