太白瓦韦 tai bai wa wei

Lepisorus henanensis Ching & S. K. Lin; L. venosus Ching & S. K. Wu.

Plants 10-20 cm tall. Rhizomes creeping, ca. 2 mm in diam., densely scaly; scales spreading, brown or dark brown, ovate-lanceolate, 2-2.5 × 1.1-1.5 mm, clathrate, margin spiny, apex with a long sharp awn; lumina isodiametrically polygonal, oblong toward apex. Fronds clustered or remote; stipe straw-colored, 2-10 cm, ca. 1 mm in diam.; lamina grayish green on both surfaces when dried, lanceolate, 18-30 × 1.5-2.5 cm, widest at or below middle, papery or membranous, abaxially sparsely scaly, base cuneate, margin flat and straight, apex shortly acuminate. Main veins raised abaxially, adaxially flat or slightly raised or depressed in limited places, veinlets obscure. Sori along distal 1/3-2/3 of lamina, midway between costa and margin, suborbicular, ca. 2 mm in diam.; paraphyses irregularly stellate or lanceolate, margin with long and thick spines; lumina irregular, large and transparent.

● On rocks or tree trunks; 2000-2800 m. Henan, Qinghai, Shaanxi.

Lepisorus thaipaiensis is very similar to L. likiangensis but is found at lower elevations, has a much thinner lamina, and sori usually distributed along distal 1/3-1/2 of lamina while those of L. likiangensis can extend almost to the base.