琼越莲座蕨 qiong yue lian zuo jue

Angiopteris howii Ching & Chu H. Wang.

Fronds 1-2.5 m; stipes tuberculate. Laminae bipinnate; pinnae 40-70 × 15-35 cm, with 10-15 pairs of pinnules; pinnules lanceolate, 12-18 × 1.5-2.8 cm, bases rounded to cuneate, margins dentate to shallowly crenate (to nearly entire), apices acute to caudate. Veins usually obvious, sometimes obscure adaxially, 10-15 lateral veins per cm; false veins short, not surpassing sori or up to 1/3 toward costule. Sori 0.3-0.5 mm from margin, 0.5-1.5 mm, composed of 7-15 sporangia.

Forests; 900-1200 m. Guangxi, Hainan [Vietnam].

Angiopteris cochinchinensis may be expanded in the future to include a few other very similar taxa such as A. acutidentata, A. caudipinna, and A. remota. Further studies are needed to establish if these taxa are phenotypes of a single species or separate species in their own right.