Hypolepis sparsisora, the giant edgelobed fern, is an Afrotropical fern species with an extensive range in Africa and Madagascar, where it occurs at diverse elevations.[1] In South Africa it is present in the Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, Mpumalanga and the Western Cape.[2]
It has a subterranean, creeping rhizome of up to 9 mm in diameter. The erect fronds are widely spaced and finely divided. The ovate lamina is 1 × 0.8 m in size and 4- to 5-pinnatifid. The small (0.5–1 mm wide), oval sori are borne singly in the sinuses between the lobes.[1] [3]