Lepidogrammitis Ching.

Plants small, epiphytic or epilithic, often forming dense mats. Rhizomes slender and creeping, covered with scales; scales ovate-lanceolate, entire or lower part irregularly toothed, almost stellate, clathrate. Fronds remote, monomorphic or dimorphic; stipe articulate, often short to almost absent; sterile lamina orbicular to obovate, elliptic, lanceolate, or oblanceolate, subfleshy, hard leathery when dried, glabrous or subglabrous or sparsely scaly, margin entire; fertile lamina linear or linear-oblanceolate. Veins reticulate, usually obscure, main vein obscure, free included veinlets usually toward main vein, simple or forked. Sori linear or circular, in 1 row parallel with main vein, but normally apices of fronds sterile, covered with peltate paraphyses when young; paraphyses clathrate, margin denticulate; annuli of sporangia consisting of ca. 14 thick-walled cells. Spores yellow, ellipsoid, monolete, transparent or subtransparent, surface prominently tuberculate, tubercles often irregular, ± fused to give foveolate surface. x = 12(36).

Molecular data (Li Wang et al., Bot. J. Linn. Soc. 162: 36. 2010) showed the strong case for including Lepidogrammitis within Lemmaphyllum. Hovenkamp is of the opinion that it is not practicable to differentiate between most species previously recognized within this genus and that only 2 entities should be recognized within the Flora area: L. carnosum s.s. including species 1 and 2, and L. carnosum var. rostratum including species 3-5 of this account (Fl. Males., Ser. 2, 3: 72-76. 1998).

Up to nine species: center of diversity in S China, with a few species also occurring in India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, and Thailand; five species (two endemic) in China.

(Authors: Lin Youxing (林尤兴); Peter H. Hovenkamp, Michael G. Gilbert)