尾羽蹄盖蕨 wei yu ti gai jue

Fertile fronds up to 68 cm; stipe brown, upward pale red-purple, shiny, ca. 30 cm, ca. 3 mm in diam., base densely clothed with dark brown, linear-lanceolate scales, upward glabrate; lamina 2-pinnate, ovate-triangular, up to 35 × ca. 25 cm, base hardly narrowed, apex abruptly narrowed; pinnae under abruptly narrowed tip 8 or 9 pairs, basal pinnae subopposite, basal and subbasal pinnae slightly shortened, base not narrowed; middle pinnae broadly lanceolate, 13-15 × 2.5-3 cm, base equilateral, rounded-truncate, pinnate, apex caudate-acuminate; pinnules 16-18 pairs, alternate, approximate, subspreading, basal pinnules slightly larger, acroscopic pinnules close to rachis, basal 2 or 3 pairs of pinnules adnate to costae, separate from each other, suboblong, 10-16 × 5-7 mm, base unequally sided, auriculate on acroscopic side, slightly decurrent on basiscopic side, margin toothed, apex acute; veins inconspicuous adaxially, visible abaxially, pinnate in pinnules, lateral veins 5-8 pairs, lower veins forked, upper veins simple, but pinnate in auriculate lobes. Lamina firmly herbaceous when dried, pale greenish brown adaxially, grass-green abaxially, glabrate on both surfaces; rachis and costae abaxially brown-stramineous, slightly purplish red, with dense brownish short glandular hairs, with subulate spines on adaxial side of costa or costule. Sori oblong or shortly linear, 2-4 pairs per pinnule, biseriate on both sides of costules, subcostular; indusia brownish, oblong or shortly linear, thinly membranous, entire, often fugacious at maturity. Perispore surface without folds.

● Forests, streamsides; 1900-2600 m. NW Yunnan.

Athyrium caudatum is very similar to A. epirachis but differs by the lamina deltoid-ovate, abruptly narrowed at apex, pinnae long acuminate-caudate at apex, and basal pinnules prominently auriculate on the acroscopic side.