阔羽溪边蕨 kuo yu xi bian jue

Plants ca. 70 cm tall. Rhizomes short, erect, including stipe bases with dense setaceous brown lanceolate scales and spreading multicellular grayish white acicular long hairs. Fronds clustered; stipes 20-24 cm, dark stramineous, sparsely setaceous at bases; laminae 30-35 × 10-13 cm, slightly narrowed to bases, 1-pinnate, pinnatifid-acuminate at apices; pinnae 10-12 pairs, alternate, spreading, sessile, proximal ones free from rachises, distal ones ± adnate to rachises and completely combined near apical part; middle pinnae broadly lanceolate, ca. 7 × 2.2 cm, bases rounded-truncate and slightly broadened, not symmetrical, lobed to 1/4 of distance to costule, apices shortly acuminate; segments ovate-triangular, ca. 4 × 4 mm, entire, obtuse-rounded at apices. Veins evident, 4 or 5 pairs of veinlets per segment, proximal 2 pairs (sometimes 1.5 pairs) joining by their ends, veinlets of proximal pair arising far above base of costules. Laminae dark green when dry, herbaceous, abaxial surface with acicular hairs along rachises, costae, veins, and intercostal areas, adaxially with dense setae along rachises, costae, and veins, sparsely setaceous along margins, glabrous on intercostal areas. Sori linear, attached along veinlets, exindusiate; sporangia each with 3 or 4 erect acicular hairs near apices.

● Streamsides in forests; 2300-2500 m. NW Yunnan (Gongshan).