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	Vegetation type(s)	Features	Flowers & type
Black Maidenhair Fern Adiantum capillus-veneris	Egoli Granite Grassland Witwatersrand	Medicinal Near water Shade Gauteng	Fern
Mexican Maidenhair Fern Adiantum poiretii poiretii	Egoli Granite Grassland Witwatersrand	Attractive Near water Shade Gauteng	Fern
Grassveld Tree Fern Alsophila dregei	Egoli Granite Grassland Witwatersrand	Good potplant Easy to grow Attractive Near water Semi-shade Shade Sun Soil: loam Soil: sandy Gauteng	Fern Tree
Scented Fern Anemia caffrorum	Egoli Granite Grassland Witwatersrand	Drought-resistant Attractive Medicinal Rocky habitat Semi-shade Shade Gauteng	Fern
Asplenium adiantum-nigrum	Egoli Granite Grassland Witwatersrand	Attractive Medicinal Near water Rocky habitat Shade Gauteng	Fern
African Spleenwort Asplenium aethiopicum	Egoli Granite Grassland Witwatersrand	Medicinal Near water Rocky habitat Shade Gauteng	Fern
Scaly Fern Asplenium cordatum	Egoli Granite Grassland Witwatersrand	Drought-resistant Medicinal Rocky habitat Shade Gauteng	Fern
Pointed Hard Fern Blechnum attenuatum giganteum	Egoli Granite Grassland Witwatersrand	Near water Rocky habitat Shade Gauteng	Fern
Southern Hard Fern Blechnum australe	Egoli Granite Grassland Witwatersrand	Attractive Near water Shade Gauteng	Fern
Silver Fern Cerosora argentea	Egoli Granite Grassland Witwatersrand	Near water Rocky habitat Semi-shade Shade Gauteng	Fern
Dolomite Lipfern Cheilanthes dolomiticola	Egoli Granite Grassland Witwatersrand	Attractive Rocky habitat Semi-shade Sun Gauteng	Fern
Resurrection Fern Cheilanthes eckloniana	Egoli Granite Grassland Witwatersrand	Drought-resistant Attractive Medicinal Rocky habitat Semi-shade Sun Gauteng	Fern
Cheilanthes involuta involuta	Egoli Granite Grassland Witwatersrand	Near water Rocky habitat Semi-shade Shade Gauteng	Fern
Hard Lip Fern Cheilanthes viridis glauca	Egoli Granite Grassland Witwatersrand	Rocky habitat Semi-shade Shade Gauteng	Fern
Grassland Fern Dryopteris athamantica	Egoli Granite Grassland Witwatersrand	Medicinal Rocky habitat Semi-shade Shade Gauteng	Fern
Thin-stemmed Forest Fern Dryopteris inaequalis inaequalis	Egoli Granite Grassland Witwatersrand	Medicinal Near water Rocky habitat Shade Gauteng	Fern
Branched Horsetail Equisetum ramosissimum	Egoli Granite Grassland Witwatersrand	Medicinal Near water Semi-shade Shade Gauteng	Fern
Woolly Lipfern Hemionitis hirta	Egoli Granite Grassland Witwatersrand	Drought-resistant Medicinal Rocky habitat Semi-shade Shade Gauteng	Fern
Cluster Fern Hemionitis multifida	Egoli Granite Grassland Witwatersrand	Near water Rocky habitat Semi-shade Sun Gauteng	Fern
Four-pinnate Lip Fern Hemionitis quadripinnata	Egoli Granite Grassland Witwatersrand	Medicinal Rocky habitat Semi-shade Sun Gauteng	Fern
Green Cliff Brake Hemionitis viridis viridis	Egoli Granite Grassland Witwatersrand	Drought-resistant Near water Rocky habitat Semi-shade Shade Gauteng	Fern
Staghorn Clubmoss Lycopodiella cernua	Egoli Granite Grassland Witwatersrand	Attractive Medicinal Near water Shade Gauteng	Fern
Marsilea macrocarpa	Egoli Granite Grassland Witwatersrand	Grazers/browsers Edible In water Shade Gauteng	Fern
Common Adders-tongue Ophioglossum polyphyllum	Egoli Granite Grassland Witwatersrand	Medicinal Near water Semi-shade Sun Gauteng	Fern
Southern Adder's-tongue Ophioglossum vulgatum	Egoli Granite Grassland Witwatersrand	Near water Semi-shade Sun Gauteng	Fern
American Royal Fern Osmunda regalis	Egoli Granite Grassland Witwatersrand	Attractive Medicinal Useful In water Near water Rocky habitat Semi-shade Shade Sun Soil: clay Soil: loam Gauteng	Fern Perennial
Hard Fern Pellaea calomelanos calomelanos	Egoli Granite Grassland Witwatersrand	Attractive Edible Medicinal Rocky habitat Semi-shade Shade Gauteng	Fern
Common Bracken Pteridium aquilinum aquilinum	Egoli Granite Grassland Witwatersrand	Edible Semi-shade Shade Gauteng	Fern
Cretan Brake Pteris cretica	Egoli Granite Grassland Witwatersrand	Attractive Near water Rocky habitat Shade Gauteng	Fern
Ladder Brake Pteris vittata	Egoli Granite Grassland Witwatersrand	Near water Shade Gauteng	Fern
Drege's Spikemoss Selaginella dregei	Egoli Granite Grassland Witwatersrand	Rocky habitat Sun Gauteng	Fern
Mitten's Spikemoss Selaginella mittenii	Egoli Granite Grassland Witwatersrand	Near water Rocky habitat Shade Gauteng	Fern
Swamp Fern Thelypteris confluens	Egoli Granite Grassland Witwatersrand	Attractive Near water Shade Gauteng	Fern

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Braamfontein Spruit Ecological Corridor

Ferns of the Witwatersrand

Linked species

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