糙坚凤尾蕨 cao jian feng wei jue

Plants to ca. 1 m tall. Rhizome ascending, short, ca. 1.8 cm in diam., apex densely scaly; scales dark brown, triangular-subulate, to 7 mm. Fronds clustered; stipe darker at base, upper part and rachis grayish brown to straw-colored, stipe to 45 cm, 2.5-3 mm in diam., distinctly rough, conspicuously scaly when young, glabrous, adaxially grooved; lamina 2-pinnatifid, ovate in outline, 30-60 × 16-30 cm; lateral pinnae 5-11 pairs, opposite, obliquely ascending, basal pairs 6-8 cm apart, basal pair shortly stalked, upper sessile, lanceolate, 14-24 × 2.5-4 cm, base obliquely cuneate, pectinately divided to near costae, apex linear-caudate, 1-3.5 cm, basal pair of pinnae each with basiscopic pinnule at base, similar to main part of pinnae but smaller; segments 20-29 pairs, subopposite to alternate, 2-3 mm apart, obliquely spreading, oblong-triangular, slightly to strongly falcate, 15-30 × 4-5 mm, progressively smaller distally, base slightly expanded, margins entire or minutely undulate, apex mucronate; terminal pinna similar to median lateral pinnae but larger, stalked; costae abaxially prominent, straw-colored, sometimes reddish adaxially, glabrous, adaxially grooved, with short adpressed teeth alongside groove near junction with costules; veins conspicuous on both surfaces, oblique, 2-forked from base; lamina bright pink when young, turning yellow and then green when mature, gray-green and stiffly papery when dried, glabrous. Indusia brown. 2n = 58.

Forests; 900-1800 m. Xizang [Bhutan, N India, Nepal].

Pteris scabririgens is closest to P. aspericaulis from which it is most easily distinguished by the much more rigid fronds with inconspicuous short adpressed spines along the costae. The description is based on collections from Bhutan and India; the collection from Xizang at BM mentioned in the protologue was not found.