片马耳蕨 pian ma er jue

Plants evergreen. Rhizome erect or ascending, short, densely covered with linear brown scales. Fronds up to 80 cm; stipe yellowish brown, 11-32 cm, 4-6 mm in diam. at base, densely covered with linear and lanceolate and larger scales; large scales somewhat sparse, bicolorous, blackish brown to dark brown at center and brown on margin, shiny, ovate and ovate-lanceolate, up to 14 × 7 mm, subentire or serrulate, caudate. Lamina bipinnate, oblong-lanceolate or oblong, up to 27-60 × 11-24 cm near base, not or slightly contracted toward base, apex caudate, sterile; rachis without proliferous bulbils, abaxially densely covered with linear, lanceolate, brown scales and larger scales; large scales dense or somewhat sparse, blackish brown to dark brown, shiny, ovate-lanceolate and broadly lanceolate, up to 9 × 5 mm, densely serrulate, caudate. Pinnae 23-26 pairs, alternate, slightly ascendant, shortly stalked, lanceolate, bases not contracted, asymmetrical, apices caudate; lower pinnae 7-10 × 1.7-2 cm, 1-pinnate; costa abaxially covered with linear brown scales, adaxially sulcate. Pinnules 16-25 pairs, alternate, subsessile, oblong, 0.8-1 × 0.3-0.4 cm, bases cuneate, acroscopic margins entire, not spinulose, exauriculate, basiscopic margins shortly spinulose, apices acute and mucronate; basal acroscopic pinnules largest, incised; both surfaces densely covered with long-filiform microscales; frond texture papery; venation pinnate, lateral veins 5-7 pairs, dichotomous, distinct. Sori small, 1-3 pairs per pinnule, in 1 row on each side of midrib, close to midrib, terminal on veinlets; indusia present, brown, small, membranous, not well developed, irregularly erose.

● Forests; 2200-2600 m. Xizang (Mêdog, Zayü), Yunnan (Gongshan, Lushui).