外卷耳蕨 wai juan er jue

Plants evergreen. Rhizome erect, densely scaly; scales blackish brown at middle and brown on margin, narrowly ovate-lanceolate, subentire, acuminate; smaller scales brown, lanceolate. Fronds up to 79 cm; stipe stramineous, up to 36 cm, 3-4 mm in diam. at base, densely scaly; larger scales blackish brown to black, oblong-lanceolate, margins ciliate, apices caudate; smaller scales black, lanceolate or linear. Lamina 1-pinnate, light brown when dry, deltoid-lanceolate, 30-43 × 10-16 cm at middle, base truncate and not contracted, apex acuminate; rachis without proliferous bulbils, densely scaly abaxially; scales black, linear. Pinnae 14-17 pairs, alternate, ascendant and attached at a 70° angle with rachis, shortly stalked, falcate-lanceolate, basal pairs 8-12 cm × 1.3-2 mm, shallowly cordate and with 1 or 2 free pinnules, with rounded shallow teeth not spinulose apically, acuminate; acroscopic bases auriculate and with 1(or 2) free ovate pinnules, sometimes basiscopic bases also with 1 smaller free pinnule; margins revolute; abaxially sparsely scaly, adaxially glabrous and slightly shiny; microscales brown, filiform; frond texture leathery; venation pinnate on pinnae, lateral veins twice dichotomously branched, slightly distinct abaxially, indistinct adaxially. Sori in 2 or 3 rows on each side of midrib, all pinnae fertile; indusia present, entire, concolorous at middle and on margins, light brown, evanescent. Spores ca. 54.4 × 39.1 µm.

● On rocks by streams in forests; ca. 1000 m. N Guizhou (Jinsha), Sichuan (Emei Shan).