披针贯众 pi zhen guan zhong

Polystichum devexiscapulae Koidzumi, Acta Phytotax. Geobot. 1: 33. 1932; Cyrtomium falcatum (Linnaeus f.) C. Presl var. devexiscapulae (Koidzumi) Tagawa; C. integrum Ching & K. H. Shing ex K. H. Shing; C. sinicum Ching ex K. H. Shing; Phanerophlebia falcata (Linnaeus f.) Copeland var. devexiscapulae (Koidzumi) Ohwi.

Plants 40-80 cm tall. Rhizome erect, densely covered with lanceolate brown scales. Stipe stramineous, 16-50 cm, 3-5 mm in diam. at base, lower portion densely scaly; scales brown, often blackish brown at middle with a pale brown edge, ovate or lanceolate, margins fimbriate. Lamina ovate-lanceolate, 34-55 × 12-20 cm, base not contracted or sometimes slightly wider, 1-imparipinnate, apex acuminate; rachis with lanceolate or linear brown scales, fugacious. Lateral pinnae 7-10 pairs, alternate, ascendant, shortly stalked, lanceolate, sometimes falcate, pinnae below middle part 9-15 × 2-3.5 cm, base slightly obliquely broadly cuneate, margins entire or sometimes repand, apex acuminate or caudate, sometimes basalmost pair wider; terminal pinna lanceolate, margins repand, sometimes lower portion lobed, 9-10 × 2.5-3.5 cm; leathery, glabrous on both surfaces; venation pinnate, slightly raised abaxially, indistinct adaxially, veinlets anastomosing to form 3-7 rows of areoles. Sori throughout adaxial surface of pinnae; indusia margins entire. 2n = 164.

Among shrubs on limestone substrate, forests; below 100-1700 m. Chongqing (Chengkou), Fujian (Liancheng, Nanping), Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou (Libo, Liping, Sandu), Jiangxi (Pingxiang), Sichuan (Pingshan), Taiwan, Zhejiang (Putuo) [Japan, Korea, N Vietnam].

Cyrtomium devexiscapulae is similar to C. falcatum and is sometimes regarded as a variety of the latter. Flavanones are found in C. devexiscapulae but not in C. falcatum. This implies that these two should be treated as different species.

This species is a sexual tetraploid. Matsumoto (Ann. Tsukuba Bot. Gard. 22: 1-141. 2003) suggested that Cyrtomium falcatum is one of the potential progenitors of the allotetraploid C. devexiscapulae. Lu et al. (J. Plant Res. 118: 129-135. 2005) further proposed that C. falcatum is likely the female parent of C. devexiscapulae based on the shared chloroplast sequences.