A review and typification of some of Kunze's newly described South African Pteridophyta published in his Acotyledonearum Africae Australioris Recensio Nova

A brief historical background is provided concerning some early collectors and their pteridophyte collections in South Africa which preceded the publication of Kunze's Acotyledonearum Africae Australioris Recensio Nova , a paper which was largely based on the pteridophyta collection of Drege, Ecklon and Zeyher. This paper was reprinted twice during 1836. Inconsistencies led to a great deal of confusion. Kunze recognized a total of 123 species (a figure which excluded forms and varieties), and of these 29 were described for the first time. The destruction of Kunze's herbarium resulted in most of his species which are described here, and elsewhere, remaining untypified. A search in most of the prominent European herbaria has revealed that adequate duplicates still exist and most of the taxa described by Kunze in the relevant publication can now be typified.