陈氏耳蕨 chen shi er jue

Plants evergreen. Rhizome ascending, upper part and stipe densely scaly; large scales light brown or castaneous, ovate or narrowly ovate, 6-10 × 3-5 mm, thick in texture, margins membranous, apex caudate; or scales brown or light brown, membranous, middle part partially thickened, varying in size, castaneous, serrulate, teeth short, fimbriate, easily falling off; small scales brown, linear-lanceolate or lanceolate, membranous, margins also with fimbriate teeth. Fronds 40-50 cm; stipe stramineous to amber, 6-18 cm, ca. 1 mm in diam. at base, stipe scales gradually smaller upward, and easily falling off. Lamina bipinnate, yellowish green or light yellow when dry, adaxially darker, lanceolate, 20-30 × 4-7 cm, slightly contracted at base, long acuminate; rachis stramineous, densely scaly; scales lanceolate and linear-lanceolate, similar to small scales on stipe; rachis with 1 proliferous bulbil near tip, bulbil densely covered with brown scales. Pinnate pinnae less than 10 pairs, mostly attached at right angles to rachis, sometimes ascendant, basal pair (sometimes several basal pairs) angled basiscopically with rachis, oblong, 1.5-4 cm × 5-10 mm, bases asymmetrical, apices acute; acroscopic pinnules obviously larger, auriculate, basiscopic pinnules smallest, acroscopic lateral pinnae gradually contracted upward, oblong-lanceolate to oblong, pinnatifid or not pinnatifid. Pinnules rhombic-ovate, 1-4 pairs, bases sessile, ± decurrent to pinna rachis, margins sparsely toothed, teeth with aculeate tip, apices acute and spinulose; acroscopic auriculate pinnules sometimes shallowly lobed; lobes acute and spinulose at apex, broadly rhombic-ovate or obovate, apices and margins similar to those of pinnules; adaxially glabrous, sparsely covered with microscales; microscales light brown, linear or subulate; frond texture papery; veins visible abaxially, indistinct adaxially, pinnate on pinnules and lobes; veinlets free, simple or forked, some basiscopic forked veinlets on auricles and lobes of basal acroscopic pinnae further forked. Sori small, medial, abaxial on veinlets, 1-5 per pinnule or lobe, up to 8 per auricle or lobe of basal acroscopic pinnae; indusia present, small, entire.

● On rocks in broad-leaved evergreen forests in valleys; 800-1400 m. Guangxi, Guizhou, SW Hunan.