Description from
Flora of China
Pleopeltis ovata Wallich ex Beddome, Ferns Brit. India, t. 157. 1866, based on Polypodium ovatum Wallich ex Hooker & Greville, Icon. Filic. 1: t. 41. 1827, not Thunberg (1768).
Rhizome creeping; scales ovate-lanceolate, margin sparsely denticulate, long acuminate. Fronds distant; stipe 10-20 cm, densely scaly; lamina irregularly pinnatifid, 3-lobed, ovate-lobed, or ovate, 7-12 cm wide, base cuneate to rounded, margin entire, apex acuminate; texture thickly papery, abaxial surface scaly, adaxial surface glabrous; midrib prominent, lateral veins obvious, veinlets anastomosing, free included veinlets forked. Sori orbicular, in 2-4 irregular rows on each side or midrib; covered by paraphyses when young.
The earliest name for this taxon, Polypodium ovatum, was a later homonym of P. ovatum Thunberg (1768). T. Moore (Index Fil. 78. 1857) published "Pleopeltis ovata (Wallich) T. Moore," but this is a nom. nud. as there is reference only to Wallichs unpublished manu-script name and no mention of Hooker & Greville. Beddome provided a plate with analysis and reference to Wallich ex Hooker & Greville.
Neolepisorus ovatus is a variable species, with fronds that are sometimes irregularly lobed. Four forms have been proposed:
Neolepisorus ovatus f. ovatus (Microsorum ensatum (Thunberg) H. Itô var. phyllomanes (Christ) Tagawa; M. phyllomanes (Christ) Koidzumi; Neocheiropteris phyllomanes (Christ) Ching; Neolepisorus basicordatus P. S. Wang; N. crenatus S. F. Wu; N. cuneatus S. F. Wu; N. dengii Ching & P. S. Wang; N. emeiensis Ching & K. H. Shing; N. lancifolius Ching & K. H. Shing; N. phyllomanes (Christ) Ching; N. sinensis Ching; N. tsaii Ching & K. H. Shing; Polypodium phyllomanes Christ). Lamina ovate, margin entire. Anhui, Chongqing, Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Sichuan, Yunnan, Zhejiang.
Neolepisorus ovatus f. deltoideus (Handel-Mazzetti) Ching (Acta Phytotax. Sin. 9: 99. 1964, based on Polypodium hemitomum Hance var. deltoideum Handel-Mazzetti, Symb. Sin. 6: 44. 1929, based on Polypodium deltoideum Baker, J. Bot. 26: 230. 1880, not Swartz (1788), nor Liebmann (1849); Neocheiropteris phyllomanes f. deltoidea (Handel-Mazzetti) Ching; Neolepisorus dengii f. hastatus Ching & P. S. Wang; N. emeiensis f. dissectus Ching & K. H. Shing; N. ovatus f. monstrosus Ching & K. H. Shing; N. phyllomanes f. deltoideus (Handel-Mazzetti) Ching; 三角叶盾蕨 san jiao ye dun jue). Lamina deltoid with irregular lobes at lower part. Forests. Chongqing, Guizhou, Sichuan.
Neolepisorus ovatus f. doryopteris (Christ) Ching (Acta Phytotax. Sin. 9: 99. 1964; Polypodium phyllomanes var. doryopteris Christ, Bull. Acad. Int. Géogr. Bot. 11: 214. 1902; Neocheiropteris phyllomanes var. doryopteris (Christ) Ching; Neolepisorus phyllomanes var. doryopteris (Christ) Ching; 蟹爪盾蕨 xie zhua dun jue). Lamina broadly ovate, bipinnatifid at base, lobes linear-lanceolate. Guizhou.
Neolepisorus ovatus f. truncatus (Ching & P. S. Wang) L. Shi & X. C. Zhang, comb. nov. (Basionym: Neolepisorus truncatus Ching & P. S. Wang, Acta Phytotax. Sin. 21: 270. 1983; N. truncatus f. laciniatus Ching & K. H. Shing; 截基盾蕨 jie ji dun jue). Lamina ovate-lanceolate, undivided, base truncate, with a yellow line between each pair of lateral veins. Limestone areas; ca. 1500 m. Guangxi, Guizhou [Vietnam].
The authors have not seen material of Neolepisorus ovatus f. gracilis Ching & K. H. Shing (Acta Phytotax. Sin. 21: 269. 1983), described from Guangxi.
Limestone areas, forests; ca. 1500 m. Anhui, Chongqing, Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Sichuan, Yunnan, Zhejiang [Vietnam].
