华西凤尾蕨 hua xi feng wei jue

Plants to 2 m tall. Rhizome not seen. Stipe basally dark brown, ca. 5 mm in diam.; lamina usually 3-branched from apex of stipe, lobes deeply 3-pinnatifid; pinnae oblong-lanceolate, ca. 80 cm, middle ones ca. 40 cm; pinnules more than 20 pairs, alternate or subopposite, oblique, contiguous with each other; middle ones longest, lanceolate, 20-25 × ca. 4.5 cm, base broadly cuneate, apex long acuminate (ca. 2 mm); segments opposite or alternate, 2-4 mm apart, obliquely patent, 20-25 × ca. 5 mm, apex obtuse or bluntly acute, flat serrate; costae straw-colored, slightly brown; costules abaxially straw-colored, with short spines along both sides of adaxial groove; veins conspicuous on both surfaces, anastomosing to form a series of narrow areoles along costules; lamina pale green when dried, thinly papery, subglabrous.

● Forests; ca. 2400 m. S Sichuan (Laibo).