粗齿耳蕨 cu chi er jue

Polystichum grossidentatum Ching.

Plants evergreen. Rhizome ascending, short, ca. 1 cm in diam. including stipe bases, apically densely scaly; scales dark brown, small, sometimes thicker at middle and slightly blackish, ovate, with hairlike fine teeth, caudate to long acuminate; scales marginate, cells of margin irregularly curved. Fronds 30-40 cm; stipe light stramineous, 8-14 cm, ca. 1 mm in diam., sparsely covered with scales similar to rhizome scales, gradually becoming glabrous upward. Lamina light brownish green when dry, linear-lanceolate, 18-30 × ca. 2.5 cm below middle, base not contracted, 1-pinnate, apex pinnatifid-acuminate; rachis light stramineous, without proliferous bulbils, both surfaces glabrous. Pinnae 30-45 pairs, alternate or nearly opposite, remote below, approximate above, lower pairs nearly attached at right angles with rachis, upper pairs slightly ascendant, sessile or lower pinnae shortly stalked, nearly right-triangular, lower pairs often slightly larger, up to 1.5 × ca. 1 cm at base, apices acute, bases asymmetrical; auricles deltoid and with up to 5 acute coarse teeth, proximal margins of auricles truncate or slightly curved, parallel to rachis, apex of auricles acute, distal margins of pinnae with up to 7 irregular deltoid coarse teeth with acute tips, basal basiscopic margins narrowly cuneate, margins entire, distal basiscopic margins slightly curved acroscopically and with 2-5 acute shallow teeth; frond texture papery; venation pinnate, distinct abaxially, slightly visible adaxially; lateral veins nearly reaching pinna margin, lateral veins on acroscopic side pinnate from base upward, dichotomous or simple, lateral veins on basiscopic side simple or dichotomous. Sori large, terminal on shorter lateral veinlets, close to pinna margin, up to 6 above midrib, 1-3 or absent below midrib; indusia small, reddish brown, caducous.

● Limestone walls; ca. 700 m. Chongqing (Youyang).

The types of Polystichum subdeltodon and P. grossidentatum are the same.