绿孢鹿角蕨 lü bao lu jiao jue

Alcicornium wallichii (Hooker) Underwood.

Rhizome thick, fleshy, shortly creeping; scales basifixed to peltate, pale with dark brown central portion, stiff, ca. 10 × 0.4 mm, margin entire. Basal fronds up to 40 cm or more, as wide as long, 3-5 times dichotomously lobed, lobes equal in length, obtuse or acute, margin entire; main veins and secondary veins raised on both surfaces, smaller ones hardly visible, main veins dichotomous, secondary ones forming network, smaller ones more copiously anastomosing; very thick and fleshy near base, more than 1 cm thick, thin and green at upper portion. Foliage fronds in pairs, 25-70 cm, subsessile, pendulous, lower portion divided into 3 uneven main lobes, upper portion of inner lobe repeatedly dichotomously branching, only outer small lobe not fertile; main veins distinct, dichotomous, smaller ones hardly visible, copiously anastomosing with included veinlets; thick, densely covered with stellate hairs; margin of lamina entire. Soral patches 2, large, at base of first sinus of 2 main lobes, mixed with stellate paraphyses. Spores 64 per sporangium, green.

Epiphytic on tree trunks and large branches up to great heights from the ground, in tropical lowland rain forests; 200-1000 m. W Yunnan (Yingjiang, at border with Myanmar) [E India, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand].