韭菜坪耳蕨 jiu cai ping er jue

Plants summer-green. Rhizome erect, short, together with basal stipe densely scaly; scales light brown, ovate or lanceolate, membranous, with short teeth, acuminate. Fronds 19-24 cm; stipe brown, 3-6 cm, 0.5-1.2 mm in diam., distal stipe scales sparser toward rachis apex, lanceolate or linear. Lamina bipinnatipartite, abaxially yellowish green when dry, adaxially darker, narrowly lanceolate, 14-20 × 2.4-3.3 cm, lower 5-7 pairs of pinnae gradually contracted toward base, long acuminate; rachis brownish stramineous, without proliferous bulbils, sparsely scaly abaxially, scales similar to distal stipe scales. Pinnae 22-28 pairs, attached at nearly right angles to rachis, alternate, shortly stalked, ovate or deltoid-ovate, middle pinnae 1.3-1.7 cm × 7-12 mm, bases slightly asymmetrical, both acroscopic and basiscopic bases auriculate, pinnatipartite, apices obtuse and shortly spinulose. Lobes 4-7 pairs, alternate, ascendant, approximate, obovate or oblong, basal acroscopic auriculate lobes largest, acroscopic margins often ± toothed, apex often obtuse but mucronate; both surfaces sparsely scaly; microscales light brown, linear or narrowly lanceolate; frond texture thinly papery; venation pinnate on lobes, visible on both surfaces, veinlets simple or forked. Sori 1-3 per lobe, abaxial on veinlets or terminal on shorter veinlets, medial, all pinnae fertile; indusia present, membranous, subentire.

● Limestone crevices; 2800-2900 m. NW Guizhou (Hezhang).