顶囊轴脉蕨 ding nang zhou mai jue

Ctenitopsis acrocarpa Ching, Acta Phytotax. Sin. 19: 124. 1981.

Plants terrestrial, ca. 50 cm tall. Rhizome erect, short, 1-1.5 cm in diam., densely scaly at apex; scales dark brown with narrow paler margin, narrowly lanceolate, ca. 5 mm, membranous, entire, acuminate. Fronds clustered; stipe dark stramineous, ca. 20 cm, ca. 3 mm in diam. at base, grooved above, with sparse scales at base, glabrous upward. Lamina subdimorphic, base tripinnatifid, bipinnatipartite toward apex, sage green when dried, elliptic-lanceolate, ca. 30 × 20 cm, herbaceous, abaxially glabrous, adaxially pubescent, apex acuminate; rachises stramineous, with sparse dark brown linear scales, rachises and costae densely clothed with articulate brown hairs; pinnae 7-10 pairs, subopposite, interval 2-3 cm; basal pinna pairs largest, obliquely triangular, 13-15 × 8-10 cm, acuminate, stalks ca. 1 cm, pinnatipartite incised to 3/4 toward costa, with a pair of separate large pinnules; middle pinnae lanceolate, ca. 12 × 4 cm, bases cuneate, apices acuminate, pinnatipartite to 3/4 toward costa; basal basiscopic pinnules lanceolate, ca. 8 × 2 cm, bases cuneate, apices acuminate, pinnatipartite to 2/3 toward costa; lobes 8-10 pairs, interval 1-1.5 mm, falcate-oblong, 8-10 × 6-7 mm, mucronate. Veins pinnate, branches 8 or 9 pairs, simple or forked, free or forming angular areoles, conspicuous on both sides. Sori orbicular, 3 or 4 pairs terminal on veinlets at apical lobes; indusia brown, orbicular-reniform, membranous, caducous.

● Dense forests in valleys on limestone; 300-500 m. Yunnan (Hekou, Jinping, Mengzi).