DRYOPTERIDACEAE (part 1) [FIRST DRAFT]
Zhang Xianchun (张宪春)[1];
2005-11-25: Cyrtogonellum; Cyrtomidictyum; Cyclopeltis; Sorolepdium
CYRTOGONELLUM Ching, Ching, Bull. Fan Mem. Inst. Biol. Bot. 8: 327. 1938.
柳叶蕨属liu ye jue shu
Zhang Xianchun (张宪春);
Small to medium plants inhabiting nitches of the calcareous rocks. Rhizome short, erect, stiff, fronds tufted, glossy green, sparsely scaly above base of stipe; scales ovate-lanceolate, acuminate, brown, margin fimbriate, of rather thick texture; stipes stramineous, adaxial side of stipes and rachises sulcate; laminae 1-pinnate, ovate-oblong, or lanceolate, apex pinnatifid or with an apical pinna similar to the lateral ones; lateral pinnae 4-34 pairs, alternate or opposite at basal part, stalked, ovate-oblong, or lanceolate, base equal or subequal, margin entire or crenate-serrate; lateral main veins wanting, veinlets 3-5 in subpinnate groups, free or joint towards margin and forming 1-2 rowed oblique elongate areoles each with one simple soriferous included veinlets; laminae texture texture papyraceous, or coriaceous, with small fibrillose scales along veins underneath, yellow or green when dry; sulcate along rachises and costae interrupt at junction. Sorus round, on apex of the acroscopic basal veinlet of each group, or on apex of included veinlets, uniseriate and medial between costa and margin, not parallel; indusium round, scale-like, peltate, brown, membraneous, entire, fugacious; spores 32 per sporangium, bilateral, ellipsoid, opaque, coarsely granulate.
About four closely related apomixes species confined to the limestone rocky areas in SW China, and N Vietnam, with its distribution center in Guizhou and adjacent regions.
An intermediate between Cyrtomium and Polystichum.
Key to species
1a. Pinnae (3-)5-11 cm long, lanceolate or ovate-lanceolate, acuminate, base equal or subequal.
2a. Fronds with pinnatifid apex; pinnae usually above 10 pairs.
3a. Pinnae 10-20 pairs, lanceolate, or linear-lanceolate, base subequal. .. . .... 1. C. caducum
3b. Pinnae 20-30 pairs, falcate, or lanceolate-falcate, base unequal, more or less auriculate on acroscopic side. . . 2. C. xichouense
2b. Fronds generally with free apical pinna similar to the lateral ones; pinnae usually 3-6 (-10) pairs; veins normally regularly anastomosing. .. . 3. C. fraxinellum
1b. Pinnae rarely above 2 cm long, ovate, short-acuminate, base unequal, apical pinna free, margin regularly inciso-serrate above the entire base. .... .. 4. C. inaequale
1. Cyrtogonellum caducum Ching, Bull. Fan Mem. Inst. Biol. Bot. 8: 330, t. 7, f. 3. 1938.
离脉柳叶蕨 li mai liu ye jue
C. tenuium Ching; C. salcifolium Ching ex Y.T. Hsieh; C. falcilobum Ching ex Y.T. Hsieh.
Rhizome erect or ascending. Stipes 12-25(-46) cm long, scaly at base, smooth upwards; scales brown, ovate-lanceolate, margin fimbriate. Lamina 15-30 (-54) x 6-12 cm, lanceolate, 1-pinnate, apex pinnatifid; lateral pinnae 13-25 pairs, lanceolate, acuminate, base subequal, margin subentire, to regularly crenate-serrate above the base, 3.5-10 x 0.8-2.0 cm, diminished in size towards acuminate and slightly pinnatifid apex; texture papyraceous, green when dry, with small fibrillose scales along veins underneath; veins 3-4-forked, occasionally joint towards margin, the acroscopic basal veinlets of each group is terminated by a large sorus. Sorus round; indusium peltate, round, entire, fugacious.
In crevices of limestone rocks in forest, alt. 350-1800m. Chongqing, Guangxi, Guizhou, Hunan, Sichuan, Yunnan [N Vietnam].
2. Cyrtogonellum xichouense S.K. Wu & Mitsuta, Acta Phytotax. Geobot. 36: 25, f. 2. 1985.
西畴柳叶蕨 xi chou liu ye jue
C. simile Ching ex Y.T. Hsieh.
Rhizome short, erect. Stipes 18-30 cm long. Scales on stipes dark brown, lanceolate, apex fimbriate, margin denticulate. Lamina lanceolate, 30-35 x 5-6(-9) cm, 1-pinnate, apex pinnatifid; pinnae falcate, 16-30 pairs, 2.5-3(-5) x 0.8-1 cm, apex acute, base unequal, acroscopic slightly auriculate, margin regularly crenate, texture papyraceous, green when dry, with small fibrillose scales along veins underneath; veins free, 2-3-forked. Sorus round; indusium peltate, round, entire, fugacious.
Guizhou, Yunnan, alt. 900-1700 m, in crevices of limestone rocks in forest.
3. Cyrtogonellum fraxinellum (Christ) Ching, Bull. Fan Mem. Inst. Biol. Bot. 8: 329, t. 7, f. 1. 1938.
柳叶蕨 liu ye jue
Aspidium fraxinellum Christ, Bull. Herb. Boiss. 7: 15. 1899; Polystichum fraxinellum Diels;
C. fraxinellum Christ; C. omeiense Ching ex Y.T. Hsieh; Cyrtogonellum X rupicola P.S. Wang & X.Y. Wang.
Stipe to 23 cm long, lamina shorter, ovate, normally impair-pinnate, rarely apex slightly pinnatifid, pinnae 3-6 pairs, ovate-lanceolate, acuminate, base equal and cuneate, rather long-stalked, 7-11 x 2-3 cm, the uppermost ones hardly any smaller, entire except towards the apex being obscurely crenate, texture rather thick coriaceous, pale brownish and winkled beneath, with small fibrillose scales along veins underneath;; veinlets 4-5 in each group, immersed, quite regularly anastomosing towards margin, forming a row of elongate oblique areoles each with one included acroscopic basal veinlet terminated by a large sorus; Sorus round; indusium peltate, round, entire, fugacious.
In crevices of limestone rocks in forest, alt. 500-1800 m. Guangxi, Guizhou, Hunan, Sichuan, Taiwan, Yunnan [N Vietnam].
4. Cyrtogonellum inaequale (Christ) Ching, Bull. Fan Mem. Inst. Biol. Bot. 8: 331, t. 7, f. 4. 1938.
斜基柳叶蕨 xie ji liu ye jue
Cyrtomium fraxinellum var. inaequlae Christ, Bull. Acad. Geogr. Bot. 11: 264. 1902; C. minium Y.T. Hsieh.
Rhizome erect or ascending. Stipes 6-20 cm long, densely scaly at base, smooth upwards; scales brown, lanceolate, margin fimbriate. Laminae linear-lanceolate, 20-30 x 3-4 cm, impari-pinnate; apical pinna small, somewhat abortive; lateral pinnae 7-34 pairs, alternate, close, oblique, with short pedicel, obliquely ovate, 1.5-2.5 x 0.6-1.4 cm, apex short acuminate or acute, seldom obtuse, base unequal, hardly cuneate, stalked, margin remotely but regularly inciso-serrate above the entire base, the uppermost ones only slightly smaller, texture rather thick coriaceous, pale brownish and winkled beneath, costa distinct one both sides, with small fibrillose scales along veins underneath; veins free, slightly immersed, 3-forked. Sorus rounded, 8-10 on acroscopic side of costa, and about half as many on the basiscopic side, terminating on apex of the acroscopic basal veinlet of each group, forming one row between costa and margin of pinna, submarginal than to costa; indusium peltate, round, thick, entire, fugacious.
In crevices of limestone rocks in forest, alt. 500-1300 m. Chongqing, and Guizhou.
The present fern is closely related to C. fraxinellum only in texture, color and the free apical pinna, differs in more numerous pairs of small ovate pinnae with unequal base, normally free venation (rarely the lower larger pinnae with few veinlets anastomosing, forming few areoles), and the regularly inciso-serrate margin above the entire oblique base.
CYRTOMIDICTYUM Ching, Bull. Fan Mem. Inst. Biol. Bot. ser. 10: 162. 1940.
鞭叶蕨属bian ye jue shu
Zhang Xianchun (张宪春);
Rhizome rather small, short, erect or ascending. Fronds tufted, long-stipitate, lanceolate to broadly oblong-lanceolate, 1-pinnate or pinnatifid in the lower part, uniform or subdimorphous, some special sterile fronds the apical part of rachis prolonging into a leafless long whip-like scaly stolon with a nodding tip of a scaly bud, when reaching the ground, takes root and grows into a young plant; stipe and rachis beneath clothed copiously with broad, ovate, acuminate, long-fimbriate, concoloured and spreading scales; pinnae ovate to lanceolate, acute or acuminate, more or less falcate, entire, or toothed at margin; texture thickly chartaceous to coriaceous, dry brown, underside copiously clothed with broad, amorphous, ciliate, thin and appressed small scales, glabrous above; veins obscure, in pinnate groups, obliquely ascending, 2-3-forked, free or casually anostomosing. Sours round, small, dorsal on veinlets, 1-2 rows on each side of the costa of pinnae, exindusiate; spores bilateral, ellipsoid, perispores verrucose or with broad wing-like folds.
Only two species, in East and Southeast China (including Taiwan), to Central to South Japan, and South Korea. A genus with many essential characters similar to the 1-pinnate and tripartite species of Polystichum.
Key to species
1a. Lamina 1-pinnate; pinnae auriculate at the acroscopic base; sorus one or often two rows at each side of the costa. . 1. C. lepidocaulon
1b. Lamina simple or usually pinnatifid; pinnae adnate and not auriculate at the acroscopic base; sorus only one row at each side of the costa. 2. C. basipinnatum
1. Cyrtomidictyum lepidocaulon (Hook.) Ching, Bull. Fan Mem. Inst. Biol. Bot. ser. 10: 162. 1940.
鞭叶蕨 bian ye jue
Aspidium lepidocaulon Hook., Sp. Fil. 4: 12, t. 217. 1862; P. lepidocaulon (Hook.) J. Sm.; C. lepidocaulon var. incisa Ching; C. conjunctum Ching; C. faberi (Baker) Ching; N. faberi Baker.
Rhizome short, erect or ascending, clothed at the growing tip with dense, dark brown, lanceolate scales. Stipes 10-30 cm long, densely clothed with scales; scales thin, brown to light brown, dimorphic, small ones ovate-lanceolate, the large ones ovate, margins of scales obviously fimbriate; lamina linear-lanceolate, 15-35 x 5-15 cm, 1-pinnate, apex acuminate, pinnatifid; free pinnae 5-15 pairs, short-stalked, or subsessile upwards, patent, alternate, basal ones as long as those next above or rarely longer, 4-10 cm x 0.8-1.8 cm, lanceolate-falcate, acuminate, entire throughout, base unequal, oblique below, with a triangular auricle above, under surface with scattered, appressed, thin, fimbriate small scales, glabrous above; texture thick chartaceous or subcoriaceous; veins obscure, 3-6 in pinnate groups, reach the margin of pinnae, the basal acroscopic fertile veinlet often stops short halfway to the margin, occasionally the basal ones of the same group on the same side, or of the adjacent groups join, otherwise all free. Sorus round, medial, small, dorsal on the lower 2-3 veinlets of each group, exindusaite, normally 2 rows, sometimes 1 row along each side of the costa, sometimes 3 rows on the auricle. Sterile rooting fronds with much slender and longer scaly stipes, lamina much narrower, usually consisting of fewer pairs of smaller pinnae, which are far apart from each other, the rachis prolongating into a long whip-like stolon, ended in a scaly bud.
In wet forest, alt. 300-2400 m. Anhui, Fujian, Guangxi, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Hunan, Taiwan, Zhejiang [S Korea, S & C Japan].
C. conjunctum and C. faberi are smaller forms of this species; there is no important difference among them. Normally the sori form two rows along costa, but sometimes only one row, or more than two on the acroscopic base of pinnae. The situation of the acroscopic basal veinlets in each group reaching or not reaching the margin of laminae, which was used to key out C. lepidocaulon and C. faberi are found co-occurred in one individual plant. In sterile fronds, the acroscopic basal veinlets always reaching the margin, but not in fertile fronds.
2. Cyrtomidictyum basipinnatum (Baker) Ching, Acta Phytotax. Sin. 6: 262, pl. 51. 1957.
单叶鞭叶蕨 dan ye bian ye jue
Aspidium basipinnatum Baker, J. Bot. (London) 176. 1889; Polystichum basipinnatum Diels.
Rhizome short, erect, clothed at the growing tip with dense, dark brown, lanceolate scales. Stipes 8-14 cm long, densely clothed with scales; scales thin, brown to light brown, dimorphic, small ones ovate-lanceolate, the large ones ovate, margins of scales obviously fimbriate; lamina linear-lanceolate, acuminate, 15-20 x 2.5-3.5 cm, pinnatifid in the lower part down to rachis and to a broad wing along the rachis upwards; pinnae numerous, contiguous, the lower ones oblong-ovate, acute, entire, 1.2-1.4 x 0.7 cm, base adnate to rachis, the upper side not auriculate, the apical part of the lamina gradually tapping and entire; texture subcoriaceous, dry brown, glabrous above, scaly over the surface and rachis beneath; veins obscure, in pinnate groups, all 2-forked, or rarely 3-forked, ascending, reach the margin of pinnae. Sorus round, small, medial and uniseriate on each side of the costa. Sterile lamina simple, or similar to the fertile ones, usually less deeply pinnatifid, sometimes the rachis elongate into a long whip-like nodding stolon and viviparous at the apex.
Very rare, by streams under forest. Guangdong, Guangxi, Hongkong.
It seems a small or young stage of C. lepidocaulon, but sometimes with simple sterile or fertile fronds, not found in that species. It is needed to investigate the populations of this species.
CYCLOPELTIS J. Sm., Comp. Bot. Mag. 72: 36. 1846.
拟贯众属ni guan zhong shu
Zhang Xianchun (张宪春);
Rhizome short, rhick, ascending, bearing numerous scales on rhizome apex and stipe, decrescent upwards on rachis and lower side of costae; scales chestnut-brown, linear, margin toothed. Fronds tufted, narrowly elliptic-lanceolate, 1-pinnate, bright bluish-green above when fresh; stipe and rachis not or only slightly channeled, not at all winged; pinnae numerous, alternate, mostly sessile, the lowest short-stalked, the upper ones falcate, glabrescent above, sub-entire, more or less articulate to rachis; costa prominent above, not grooved; veins free, forked several times. Sorus round, dorsal on veinlets, in 1-4 rows on each side of costa; indusium peltately attached; spores bilateral, ellipsoid, with perispore folds, granulate. Chromosome numbers n = 41.
Species 5-6, tropical Asia and America, 1 in China.
A genus should be classified within the tectaroid ferns, not a polystichoid stock fern as Ching (1957) suggested. The multicellular hairs on fronds are not found in Dryopteridaceae but in Tectariaceae.
1. Cyclopeltis crenata (Fιe) C. Chr., Index Filic. Suppl. 3: 64. 1934.
拟贯众 ni guan zhong
Hemicardion crenatum Fee, Mιm. 5: 283, t. 22, f. 1. 1852.
Rhizome stiff, short, thick, ascending, apex and base of stipes with dense scales; scales brown, to c. 1.5 cm long, linear, margin with numerous regular sharp pointed teeth. Fronds 70-90 cm long, stipe 25-55 cm long, 4-5 mm thick at base, brown; lamina narrowly elliptic-lanceolate, 1-pinnate, 50-65 x 12-25 cm, 12-25 cm broad at middle, apex gradually acuminate, base attenuate; pinnae 10-15 pairs, alternate, articulate to rachis, lanceolate, middle pinnae 8-14 x 1.5-2.8 cm, apex subacuminate or caudate, base truncate on acroscopic side, cordate on basiscopic side and auriculate over rachis, margin undulate-serrate; veins free, 4-forked, reaching margin; texture papyraceous, bright bluish-green above when fresh; short erect multicellular hairs borne at pinnae-base near rachis, along costa beneath, and sparsely at pinna margins and on surfaces. Sorus round, dorsal on veinlets, in 1-4 rows on each side of costa; indusium peltately attached, with a few minute marginal hairs; spores monolete, with perispore folds, granulate.
In clay soil under forest or beside rocks along streams, alt. 400-1300 m. Hainan [From Myanmar, Vietnam to the Philippines].
SOROLEPIDIUM Christ, Bot. Gaz. 51: 350. 1911; Ching in Acta Phytotax. Sin.
16(4): 22. 1978.
玉龙蕨属yu long jue shu
Zhang Xianchun (张宪春);
According to our new molecular analysis, the species of Sorolepidium is nested in Polystichum, in the section of high alpine Asian small species, i.e. sect. Sorolepidium (Christ) Tagawa, or sect. Lasiopolystichum Daigobo. Two species are recognized in Flora Reipublicae Popularis Sinicae 5(2). After a check of more materials and field observations confirm that they are the same polymorphic species.
Polystichum glaciale Christ, Bull. Soc. Bot. Fr. 52, Mιm. 1: 28. 1905.
玉龙蕨 yu long jue
Sorolepidium glaciale (Christ) Christ, Bot. Gaz. 51: 35, cum fig. 1911; S. ovale Y.T. Hsieh.
Rhizome thick, erect, densely rooted. Fronds tufted, 4-7 together; stipes 1-5(-8) cm long, covered with dense dimorphic scales; scales pale brown or ochreous-yellow, the one shorter, fibrillose, the other broad ovate, acuminate, to 6 mm long; lamina 10-15 x 1.5-2.5 cm, linear-lanceolate, broad at middle, tapering to both ends, 1-pinnate, rachis thickly clothed with lanceolate subulate scales; pinnae confert, 15-25 pairs, alternate, subsessile, 0.5-1.2 x 0.3-0.6 cm, oblong, margin strongly reflexed, crenate, truncate or cordate with whitish appressed setaceous scales above, the under surface clothed in densely large lanceolate, brown scales form the costa and the smaller ones from the veins; the scales linear-lanceolate, scariosus, 2 mm long; veins entirely hidden, free, forked or subpinnate near the base. Sorus 3-4 on each side of the costa, almost round, hidden, exindusiate; spores surface with echinate fenestrate folds.
In rigid, cold alpine mountains, growing in calcareous rock crevices up to snow line or by glacier, alt. 2600-4700 m. Gansu, Qinghai, Sichuan, Taiwan, Xizang, Yunnan [Indian Himalayans].
[1] Herbarium, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 20 Nanxincun, Xiangshan, Beijing 100093, Peoples Republic of China.