长刺耳蕨 chang ci er jue

Plants evergreen. Rhizome erect or ascending, short, densely covered with linear brown scales. Fronds 60-120 cm; stipe stramineous, 16-57 cm, 5-7 mm in diam. at base, sparsely covered with linear grayish brown scales and appressed scales; appressed scales blackish brown, lanceolate, subentire. Lamina bipinnate, deltoid-lanceolate, 54-92 × 19-40 cm, not contracted toward base, basal part sterile, apex acute, fertile; rachis without proliferous bulbils, covered with linear and lanceolate scales and larger scales; large scales sparse, bicolorous, middle part castaneous brown, ovate, up to 7 × 4 mm, subentire, caudate. Pinnae 18-26 pairs, alternate, ascendant, shortly stalked, lanceolate, not contracted toward base, bases asymmetrical, apices caudate, basal pinnae 11-17 × 1.8-3.5 cm near base, 1-pinnate; costa scaly; scales linear or lanceolate and brown, or ovate and castaneous brown. Pinnules 18-23 pairs, alternate, shortly stalked, narrowly deltoid-ovate, 1.6-2.6 × 0.6-0.8 cm, bases cuneate, auricles deltoid, margins lobed, long spinulose, apices acute with acute tips; basal acroscopic pinnules largest, pinnatipartite; abaxially with lanceolate microscales, adaxially subglabrous; frond texture papery; venation pinnate on pinnules, lateral veins 6-9 pairs, dichotomous, distinct. Sori 6-8 pairs per pinnule, in 1 row on each side of midrib or more on acroscopic side, terminal on veinlets, brown; exindusiate, or indusia not well developed, caducous.

● Broad-leaved forests, mixed forests, shrubs; 1700-2400 m. Guizhou (Pu’an), Sichuan, Yunnan (Daguan, Zhenxiong).

Polystichum longispinosum is similar to P. altum in shape and size, but it differs in its stipe scales broadly lanceolate, blackish brown, and appressed, rachis scales ovate and dimorphic, and pinnule margins long spinulose.