Abstract:
Cheilanthes deltoidea Kunze is a small and easily
overlooked fern endemic to southern Africa. Hitherto it
has been recorded in the western and northwestern parts
of the Northern Cape, the Cederberg area of the Western
Cape, and in southern Namibia. To the east, there is
a disjunct record from the Waterberg in Limpopo Province
(Jacobsen & Jacobsen 1986; Burrows 1990), and
Klopper et al. (2006) reported the discovery of a particularly
small form of C. deltoidea in the Centurion area of
Gauteng. Klopper et al. (2006) suggested that this form
(perhaps including the plants from the Waterberg) may
warrant description as a new infraspecifi c taxon, but further
studies were needed to confi rm the suggested status.
Recently, a population of this same entity was discovered
north of the Cradle of Humankind area, very close
to the Gauteng/North-West border. The population in the
Waterberg was located and a comparative study of the
various forms and their habitat was completed.
