37. Diplazium hirtisquama (Ching & W. M. Chu) Z. R. He
[comb. nov.]
毛鳞双盖蕨 mao lin shuang gai jue
Basionym: Allantodia hirtisquama Ching & W. M. Chu, Acta Bot. Yunnan. 3: 335. 1981.
Plants evergreen, medium-sized. Rhizome creeping, black, ca. 5 mm in diam., sparsely scaly; scales brown to black-brown, linear-lanceolate, ca. 5 mm, with marginal and adaxial teeth; fronds distant. Fertile fronds 80-110 cm; stipe black at base, upward light green-stramineous, as long as lamina, 3-5 mm in diam. at base, upward glabrous; lamina 1-pinnate, deltoid, 40-50 × 30-40 cm, apex rather abruptly narrowed and acuminate; pinnae 10-13 pairs, alternate, base rounded, pinnatilobate or subdentate, apex long acuminate; lower pinnae spreading, straight, oblong-lanceolate, symmetrical, up to 20 × 3 cm, with stalk up to 5 mm; upper pinnae slightly ascending, sickle-shaped lanceolate; lobes of lower pinnae 25 pairs, broadly deltoid, margin repand or shallowly serrate, apex oblique; veins visible abaxially, not prominent adaxially, veinlets simple, ascending, up to 4 pairs per lobe. Lamina papery when dry, dark colored adaxially, glabrous on both surfaces. Sori linear, single, up to 3 pairs per each lobe, basal acroscopic sori longer, basal sori borne near costa, upper sori near middle or upper part of veinlet, both ending inframarginally; indusia brown, membranous, entire. Spores oblong, perispore prominent, few rugate.
● Evergreen broad-leaved forests; ca. 900 m. SE Yunnan (Hekou).
Diplazium hirtisquama is similar to D. mettenianum but differs in the scales toothed marginally and adaxially, lower pinnae straight, broader in middle, rounded at base, and basal pinnae similar to upper pinnae.