钳形耳蕨 qian xing er jue

Plants evergreen. Rhizome erect, short, ca. 2 cm in diam. including stipe bases. Fronds 25-50 cm; stipe stramineous, sparsely scaly on lower part; scales dark brown to castaneous at middle, ovate-lanceolate, finely toothed, acuminate; cells often rectangular, cell walls straight; lateral portions of scales light brown; areoles composed of irregularly curved cells. Lamina 1-pinnate, green when dry, adaxially darker, oblong-lanceolate, 20-35 × 3-4 cm at middle, slightly contracted below middle of lamina, shortly acuminate; rachis stramineous, without proliferous bulbils, abaxially sparsely scaly; scales brown, narrowly lanceolate, toothed. Pinnae 30-40 pairs, approximate, attached at nearly right angles to rachis, oblong or nearly falcate, 1-2 cm × ca. 5 mm at middle, pinnatilobate to pinnatifid, acroscopic margins of pinnae with auriculate lobes and 4-7 short lobes, each lobe shallowly further lobed at apex into 2 unequal secondary lobules, auriculate lobes with 4 or 5 secondary small lobules, basiscopic margins of pinnae with 4 or 5 short lobes equal to or longer than those on acroscopic margins, basalmost basiscopic lobes not further lobed; all lobes ascendant, apices acute and often shortly spinulose; adaxially glabrous, abaxially sparsely scaly; microscales linear; frond texture papery; venation distinct abaxially, visible adaxially, veinlets on auricles pinnate, others nearly dichotomous, rarely simple, only 1 veinlet per lobe or secondary lobule, not reaching lobe apex. Sori small, terminal on veinlets, close to pinna margin; indusia evanescent.

● Limestone crevices in montane broad-leaved evergreen forests; ca. 1500 m. SE Yunnan (Pingbian, Xichou).