Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jul 19, 2026

Tectaria gemmifera

Tectaria gemmifera, the snail fern, is a species of fern in the family Tectariaceae. It is native to Africa from the equator southwards, and is present in the DRC, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, Angola, Zambia, Malawi, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, South Africa and Madagascar. Its natural habitat is deeply shaded forest floors of moist subtropical or tropical forest, and it occurs from 600 to 2,550 metres above sea level. The Latin name refers to the gemma that are produced by the fronds of this species.

Last revised
Jul 19, 2026
Read time
≈ 1 min
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Citations
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Wikipedia ↗
Snail fern
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Embryophytes
Clade: Tracheophytes
Division: Polypodiophyta
Class: Polypodiopsida
Order: Polypodiales
Suborder: Polypodiineae
Family: Tectariaceae
Genus: Tectaria
Species:
T. gemmifera
Binomial name
Tectaria gemmifera
Synonyms12
  • Aspidium cicutarium sensu Sim
  • Aspidium cicutarium (L.) Sw.
  • Aspidium coadunatum Kaulf.
  • Aspidium decaryanum C.Chr.
  • Aspidium gemmiferum (Fée) Ching
  • Nephrodium cicutarium sensu Sim
  • Nephrodium cicutarium (L.) Baker
  • Sagenia gemmifera Fée
  • Tectaria coadunata C.Chr.

Tectaria gemmifera, the snail fern, is a species of fern in the family Tectariaceae. It is native to Africa from the equator southwards, and is present in the DRC, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, Angola, Zambia, Malawi, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, South Africa and Madagascar.1 Its natural habitat is deeply shaded forest floors2 of moist subtropical or tropical forest, and it occurs from 600 to 2,550 metres above sea level.1 The Latin name refers to the gemma that are produced by the fronds of this species.

References

References

  1. Roux, J.P.; Shaffer-Fehre, Monika; Verdcourt, Bernard (2007). "Flora of Tropical East Africa". JSTOR Global Plants. Kew Gardens. Retrieved 8 January 2015.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  2. Hyde, Mark. "Tectaria gemmifera (Fée) Alston". Flora of Zimbabwe. Retrieved 8 January 2015.

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