Pteridophyta-Sinopteridaceae : a new subspecies of Cheilanthes deltoidea from Gauteng and Limpopo, South Africa

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.