黔中耳蕨 qian zhong er jue

Plants evergreen. Rhizome erect, short, ca. 1 cm in diam. including stipe bases. Fronds 12-40 cm; stipe stramineous, 2-10 cm, 0.5-1 mm in diam. at base, sparsely scaly; scales brown, narrowly ovate to ovate-lanceolate, ca. 1.5 mm, membranous, margins fimbriate. Lamina 1-pinnate, yellowish green or light brown when dry, nearly concolorous on both surfaces, narrowly elliptic-lanceolate, 10-25 × 2-3 cm at middle, gradually contracted below middle of lamina, 1-1.5 cm wide at base, acuminate; rachis stramineous, without proliferous bulbils, sparsely scaly; scales similar to stipe scales. Pinnae 15-22 pairs, alternate, attached at right angle to rachis or angled slightly acroscopically, sometimes lower pairs angled slightly basiscopically, sessile or very shortly stalked, pinnatipartite to pinnatisect, obliquely ovate or nearly oblong, acroscopic margins forming a nearly right angle with rachis, basiscopic margins forming an obtuse angle with rachis, proximal margins of basal acroscopic pinnules or lobes nearly parallel to rachis, apices acute or obtuse and ascendant. Lobes 3-6 pairs, lobes ascendant, obovate, bases narrowly cuneate, apices 2-5-toothed-lobed or not lobed, apices of lobes acute apically, basal acroscopic lobes obviously largest; adaxially glabrous, abaxially sparsely scaly; microscales brown, ovate-lanceolate to lanceolate, with few long teeth, smaller microscales light brown or grayish white, vermiform; frond texture papery; venation pinnate on pinnae, lateral veins dichotomous on auricles and other lobes, slightly distinct abaxially, indistinct adaxially. Sori small, less than 1 mm in diam. when mature, abaxial and terminal on veinlets, nearly medial; indusia present, light brown, entire, evanescent.

● Limestone cliffs at cave mouths; 1100-1300 m. C Guizhou.

The type of Polystichum martinii was collected from Pingba (Gan-pin) instead of Anshun.