线羽凤尾蕨 xian yu feng wei jue

Pteris biaurita Linnaeus var. intermittens C. Christensen; P. confusa T. G. Walker; P. vijaynagarensis Sarn. Singh & Panigrahi.

Plants 1-1.5 m tall. Rhizome erect, short, 1.5-2 cm in diam., apex with black-brown scales. Fronds clustered (6-8 per plant); stipe basally brown, upper part straw-colored, slightly lustrous, as long as fronds, 3-4 mm in diam., glabrous; lamina 2- or 3-pinnatipartite, oblong-ovate in outline, 50-70 × 20-30 cm; lateral pinnae 5-15 pairs, opposite, slightly decumbent, sessile or basal pairs shortly stalked, lanceolate, 15-25(-33) × 3-4(-5.5) cm, base rounded-cuneate and slightly oblique, deeply pectinately divided to winged costa, apex long caudate; basal pair of pinnae often each with basiscopic pinnule similar to main part of pinnae but smaller; segments 25-35 pairs, alternate, subspreading or oblique, falcate-oblong, 20-30 × 5-8 mm, base slightly enlarged, margins entire, apex obtuse or mucronate; terminal pinna similar to lateral pinnae; costae with 6-10 mm wide wings, prominent abaxially, straw-colored, glabrous, grooved adaxially, with spines; veins conspicuous and convex on both sides, decumbent, 2-forked at base, basiscopic vein of segment base arising from rachis, and acroscopic vein from base of costa, 2 opposite veins of pinna base arriving at margin of incision and forming a fork or triangle, or sometimes interlinked into a continuous triangular mesh, and other veins outward from mesh separate and extending to base of incision; lamina green, yellowish green, or brown-green, subleathery when dried, glabrous.

Dense forests, wet areas near streamsides; 100-1800 m. Guangdong, Guangxi, SW Guizhou (Ceheng), Hainan, Sichuan (Dechang, Yanbian), Taiwan, C, S, and W Yunnan [India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam].

According to Fraser-Jenkins (Taxon. Revis. Indian Subcontinental Pteridophytes, 116-117. 2008), Pteris arisanensis is the correct name for Himalayan material previously incorrectly identified as P. linearis Poiret.