STENOCHLAENACEAE [FIRST DRAFT]

光叶藤蕨科 guang ye teng jue ke

Dr. Dong Shiyong

Terrestrial and climbing plants. Rhizome creeping or climbing, stout, terete, meristelic, with 40 or more vascular bundles in 3 circles, scaly only at apex; scales brown to blackish, rounded, ovate, or ovate-lanceolate, with uneven margin, peltate on rhizome and caducous. Fronds distance, stipes glabrous except when very young; lamina imparipinnate, strongly dimorphic, coriaceous or chartaceous, glabrous on both surfaces; sterile pinnae broadly lanceolate, articulate to rachis (apical pinna not articulate), shortly stalked, with a gland on each petiole, sharply toothed at margin; fertile pinnae linear, entire at margin; veins anastomosing, forming a single row of areoles along each side of midrib, other veins free. Sporangia covering the whole of abaxial surface of fertile pinnae. Spores ellipsoidal, with prominent tubercles on the distal face. x = 37.

One genus and six species: Africa, Asia, Australia and Pacific Islands; one species in China.

It is an exceptional group for its distinct stele type. Ching (1978) gave a family state to this group and placed it after Acrostichaceae. Kramer (1990) treated it as a subfamily within Blechnaceae for its venation, stomata, spores and gametophyte agreeing best with Blechnaceae. 

1. STENOCHLAENA J. Sm., Jour. Bot. 3: 401. 1841.

光叶藤蕨属 guang ye teng jue shu

Morphological characters and geographic distribution are the same as those of the family.

1. Stenochlaena palustris (Burm.) Bedd., Ferns Brit. Ind. Suppl. 26. 1876.

光叶藤蕨 guang ye teng jue

Polypodium palustre Burm., Fl. Ind. 234. 1768; Acrostichum palustre Clarke; A. scandens Hook.; Chrisodium palustre Luerss.; Lomaria scandens Willd.; Lomariopsis scandens Mett.; Olfersia scandens C. Presl; Onoclea scandens Sw.; Stenochlaena hainanensis Ching & P. S. Chiu; S. scandens J. Sm.

Stems long-creeping and climbing; scales at apex of rhizome rounded, ovate, or ovate-lanceolate, ca. 1 mm in diam., dark brown to black, caducous. Fronds distant, dimorphic. Stipes 10--80 cm long, glabrous; lamina 50--80 X 20—30 cm, oblong, 1-pinnate, with 8--16 pairs of lateral pinnae and a similar terminal pinna, coriaceous or chartaceous, surfaces smooth and shining; pinnae very shortly stalked, articulate to the rachis; sterile pinnae (10)15--20 X 2--4.5 cm, broadly lanceolate or oblong-lanceolate, varying much in size and shape, sharply and irregularly serrate at margin, acuminate or sometimes caudate at apex, broadly cuneate at base; fertile pinnae 10--20 X 0.1--0.5 cm, linear. Veins simple or forked, forming a row of narrow costal areoles.  Sori acrostichoid, covering the whole abaxial surface of fertile pinnae. 2n = 148.

In open places and secondary forest; near sea level to 400 m; Guangdong, Hainan, Yunnan [Cambodia, India, Laos, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam; Australia, Pacific Islands].

List of Chinese names in Stenochlaenaceae

光叶藤蕨 guang ye teng jue

光叶藤蕨科 guang ye teng jue ke

光叶藤蕨属 guang ye teng jue shu