西藏剑蕨 xi zang jian jue

Grammitis cuspidata Zenker, Pl. Ind. 1: t. 2. 1835; Loxogramme tibetica Ching & S. K. Wu.

Rhizome shortly to moderately creeping, densely scaly; scales dark brown, lanceolate, margin entire, apex long acuminate; cells dense, longer than wide. Fronds closely spaced, monomorphic; stipe narrowly winged; lamina abaxially paler, adaxially green, lanceolate, 35-40 × ca. 3 cm, widest at upper 1/3, narrowed from middle downward, thick and fleshy, curled up when dry, glabrous, attenuate at base and decurrent into stipe, apex acuminate or caudate; costa raised abaxially, distinct but not raised adaxially, straw-colored or pale green; veins hidden, anastomosing with free included veinlets. Sori linear, up to 2.5 cm, oblique, continuous from near costa to margin of frond, superficial; paraphyses few, sparse. Spores ellipsoid-monolete.

Epilithic on moss-covered rocks or epiphytic on tree trunks in evergreen broad-leaved forests; 2000-3500 m. Sichuan, Xizang, Yunnan [Bhutan, India, Nepal].

Loxogramme cuspidata is very similar to L. involuta but has smaller rhizome scales, which differ further in color (dark brown, not grayish brown), texture, and cell shape (longer than wide, not isodiametric).