Abstract
The Okavango Delta in Botswana constitutes one of the larger inland deltas in the world. Fifteen species of fern were found in this ecological system integrated into 10 genera and 9 families. Included in this report are descriptions of each family, genus and species. Also given are artificial keys to the genera, as well as keys for genera and species within the family when necessary. A documented distribution and ecological notes for each species also appears.
Highlights
Okavango, one of the larger African rivers, has as its head waters the Cuito and Cubango Rivers in N Angola
One of the larger African rivers, has as its head waters the Cuito and Cubango Rivers in N Angola. These rivers flow from the highland of Planalto Central in N Angola and join in S Angola to form the Okavango River
In Botswana the Okavango River runs between two parallel faults in the Panhandle which control the direction of the river (Ross, 1992)
Summary
One of the larger African rivers, has as its head waters the Cuito and Cubango Rivers in N Angola. The Okavango Delta (SMITH, 1976) comprises several associations in a complex of permanent swamps, open water, seasonal swamps and floodplain. Open water communities are composed in general of Cyperus nudicaulis, Scirpus cubensis, as well as Brasenia schreberi, Nymphaea coerulea, Najas pectinata, Ceratophyllum demersum, Lagarosiphon ilicifolius and Utricularia species diverses. Transional zones between permanent and seasonal swamps are characterized by Panicum repens, Oryza longistaminata, Leersia hexandra, Rhynchospora, Fimbristylis and Fuirena species diverses, Nymphaea coerulea, Potamogeton thumbergii, Nymphoides indica and Caldesia reniformis. Four new records of ferns for Botswana have been reported recently, including Marsilea minuta L. found in the Okavango Delta (VEGA HERNANDEZ & al, 1997). The present report describes the ferns of the Okavango Delta, including information on their habitat and ecology, as well as map distributions
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