闽浙耳蕨 min zhe er jue

Plants evergreen. Rhizome ascending, short, rhizome apex and stipe base densely scaly; scales brown, lanceolate, up to 1 cm × 1.5 mm, membranous, weakly shortly serrulate or entire, long acuminate. Fronds 25-65 cm; stipe stramineous, 6-14 cm, 1-2 mm in diam. at base, upper stipe base covered with lanceolate and filiform scales. Lamina 1-pinnate, narrowly elliptic-lanceolate, 15-52 × 2-3.5 cm at middle, often gradually contracted below middle of lamina, 1-2 cm wide at base, acuminate; rachis stramineous, without proliferous bulbils. Pinnae 30-70 pairs, alternate or nearly opposite, remote, upper pairs from middle of lamina upward attached at right angles with rachis, lower pairs ± reflexed, falcate or falcate-lanceolate, basal pairs often forming nearly right angles with each other, up to 1.8 cm × ca. 5 mm at middle, apices shortly spinulose, bases obviously asymmetrical, acroscopic base auriculate; auricles deltoid, apices acute and spinulose, margins of auricles with sparse shallow teeth, proximal margins of auricles nearly parallel to rachis; basiscopic base cuneate, margins of pinnae toothed, teeth often spinulose or sometimes obtuse at apex; abaxially sparsely scaly, microscales brown, filiform, up to 3 mm; frond texture papery; venation slightly distinct abaxially, indistinct adaxially, pinnate; lateral veins often dichotomous but pinnate on auricles, apex of veinlets thickened, nearly reaching pinna margin. Sori terminal on shorter veinlets, in 1 row on each side of midrib, medial, exindusiate.

● On rocks in forests, forest margins; 300-700 m. N Fujian (Pucheng), SW Zhejiang (Songyang, Suichang, Wuyi).

Polystichum gymnocarpium is similar to P. hecatopterum, but the pinna margins are spinulose instead of aristate, the microscales are filiform, and the sori are exindusiate.