西畴蹄盖蕨 xi chou ti gai jue

Rhizomes short, erect, densely clothed with brown, lanceolate scales at apices and stipe bases. Fronds caespitose, up to 75 cm; stipe blackish brown, upward stramineous, shiny, 40-48 cm, ca. 3 mm in diam. at base, upward glabrate; lamina 2-pinnate, ovate, 27-30 × 18-20 cm, base rounded, apex slightly abruptly narrowed; pinnae 5 or 6 pairs, alternate or basal pinnae subopposite, stalked (stalk 3-10 mm) ascending; basal pinnae not shortened, broadly lanceolate, up to 12 × ca. 4 cm; middle pinnae lanceolate, up to 10 × 2.5-3 cm, base subequilateral, rounded-cuneate, parallel to rachis on acroscopic side, narrowly cuneate on basiscopic side, pinnate, apex long acuminate and somewhat caudate; pinnules 14-17 pairs, alternate, basal pinnules with stalk ca. 1 mm, upper pinnules sessile, ascending; basal pinnules slightly larger, oblong-lanceolate, somewhat falcate, 1.4-1.6 cm × 6-7 mm, base inequilateral, subtruncate, auriculate, somewhat parallel to rachis on acroscopic side, narrowly cuneate on basiscopic side, pinnatilobate, apex obtuse-acute, with 3-5 small teeth; pinnule segments ca. 6 pairs, suboblong, with 2 or 3 short teeth at apex; upper pinnules equal to basal pinnules but gradually smaller, decurrent at base; veins visible abaxially, somewhat visible adaxially, pinnate in segments, lateral veins 2 or 3 pairs, oblique, simple. Lamina herbaceous when dried, pale green, glabrate on both surfaces; rachis and costae stramineous, occasionally with few brownish, linear small scales abaxially, with pale needlelike spines on upper part of rachis and midrib adaxially. Sori oblong, lateral on basal acroscopic veins, 1 per segment (2-4 in basal acroscopic segments), biseriate on both sides of costules, inframedial; indusia brown, oblong, membranous, entire, persistent or partly fugacious. Perispore surface without folds.

● Damp areas in evergreen broad-leaved forests; 1400-2600 m. NW and SE Yunnan.