HYPOLEPIDACEAE [Draft]

姬蕨科  ji jue ke

Xing Fuwu1, Wang Faguo1*

Ferns, terrestrial. Rhizome long creeping, solenostelic, covered with multicellular bristles. Fronds medium sized to large, monotypic; stipes not articulate to rhizome; lamina 1–4-pinnate, herbaceous or papery, both surfaces usually covered with many gray multicellular hairs; pinnule or terminal lobes oblique, base asymmetrical, lower part cuneate and upper part truncate; veins free, pinnate; rachis with groove and hairs. Sori almost marginal, rounded, protected by a reflexed tooth, rarely naked, terminal on veins; annulus of 12–18 thickened cells; paraphysis linear; spores bilateral, elliptic, spinulose or tuberculate, rarely smooth.

Only one genus of about 50 species: pantropical, mainly in the western hemisphere; five species in China mainly in tropical and subtropical areas (four endemic).

1. HYPOLEPIS Bernhardi in Schrader, Neues J. Bot. 1(2): 34. 1805.

姬蕨属  ji jue shu

Characters and distribution same as the family.

1a.     Plants over 2 m tall; stipe 1.5–2 cm in diam., ebony .........................................  1. H. gigantea

1b.     Plants 95–160 cm tall; stipe 0.5–0.7 cm in diam., stramineous or castaneous brown.

2a.    Lobes with rounded teeth (obtusely serrate) ...............................................  2. H. punctata

2b.    Lobes with teeth or subentire.

3a.     Pinnule ca. 6 Χ 2 cm ...........................................................................  5. H. tenuifolia

3a.     Pinnule ca. 3 Χ 1 cm.

4a.     Pinnule oblong-lanceolate, apex obtuse, lobes with coarse teeth .....  3. H. glabrescens

4b.     Pinnule broadly lanceolate, apex acuminate, lobes subentire or with a few fine teeth  4. H. tenera

1. Hypolepis gigantea Ching, Acta Phytotax. Sin. 8: 165. 1959.

大姬蕨  da ji jue

Plants large, over 2 m tall. Rhizome long creeping, 1–1.3 cm in diam., woody, densely covered with dark brown and nodose bristles. Fronds distant, erect; stipe ebony, ca. 1 m, 1.5–2 cm in diam. at base, very firm, grooved, with few bristles on base; lamina iridescent when dry, triangular-ovate, 1–1.2 Χ 0.8–1 m, firmly herbaceous, abaxially slightly covered with sparse hairs, adaxially nearly glabrous, quadripinnatifid; pinnae 10–13 pairs, ca. 10 cm apart, with stalk 1–1.5 cm, basal pair larger, oblong, 50–60 Χ 18–28 cm, base symmetric, tripinnate, apex acuminate; pinnules ca. 25 pairs, subopposite, with short stalk, ca. 3 cm apart, nearly vertically spreading; ultimate pinnules 7–10 pairs, oblong, 3–5 mm, sessile, ± conjoined with narrow wing above, separate below, margin slightly lobed or with large teeth 3–5 pairs, apex acute or mucronate; veins inconspicuous, pinnate or trifurcate; rachis gray-brown, with groove and dense bristles above. Sori 2 or 3 pairs, terminal on veins; indusium pallid, membranous, slightly semicylindrical or oblong, entire.

* In shrubs on wet hillsides or forests; 400–1100 m. Hainan (Lingshui).

2. Hypolepis punctata (Thunberg) Mettenius in[??ex] Kuhn, Filic. Afr. 120. 1868.

姬蕨  ji jue

Polypodium punctatum Thunberg, Fl. Jap. 337. 1784; Dryopteris punctata (Thunberg) C. Christensen (1905), not Kuntze (1891); Hypolepis yunnanensis Ching; Nephrodium punctatum (Thunberg) Diels; Phegopteris punctata (Thunberg) Mettenius.

Rhizome long creeping, ca. 3 mm in diam., woody, densely covered with dark brown and nodose hairs. Fronds distant; stipe dark brown, 20–25(–30) cm, ca. 3 mm in diam. at base, coarse; lamina iridescent when dry, triangular-ovate, (30–)35–70(–75) Χ 20–27 cm, firmly herbaceous or papery, both surfaces with short bristles along veins, 3- or 4-pinnate; pinnae 8–16 pairs, nearly alternate, basal pairs ovate-lanceolate, 20–30 Χ 8–20 cm, with stalk 8–25 mm, densely covered with brown glandular hairs, 2- or 3-pinnate, apex acuminate; pinnules 14–20 pairs, lanceolate or broadly lanceolate, 6–10 Χ 2.5–4 cm, with short stalk 2–4 mm, with narrow wing, anadromous, 1- or 2-pinnate, apex acuminate; ultimate lobes oblong, 4–5 mm, midvein prominent, secondary veins pinnate, margin obtusely serrate, apex obtuse; rachis dark brown and coarse, with groove and translucent gray nodose hairs. Sori circular, intramarginal, 1–4 pairs on two sides of midvein, on two sides of base of ultimate lobes, protected by reflexed teeth [??exposed]; indusium brown-green, glabrous.

Near streams, dense forests; 500–2400 m. Anhui, Fujian, Guangdong, Guizhou, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Sichuan, Taiwan, Yunnan, Zhejiang [India, Indochina[??countries], Japan, Korea, Malay Peninsula, Philippines; Australia, tropical America].

3. Hypolepis glabrescens Ching, Fl. Reipubl. Popularis Sin. 2: 371. 1959.

亚光姬蕨  ya guang ji jue

Rhizome long creeping. Fronds distant; stipe pale castaneous above, dark brown below, 30–32 cm, ca. 3 mm in diam. at base, coarse; lamina iridescent when dry, ovate-triangular, 70–78 Χ 25–30 cm, papery, both surfaces slightly bristly along veins, tripinnate; pinnae 16–18 pairs, basal 1 or 2 pairs larger, ca. 15 cm apart, oblong-lanceolate, 18–20 Χ 8–10 cm, with stalk 1.5–2 cm, bipinnate, apex acuminate; basal pinnules subopposite, 1.5–2.5 cm apart, broadly lanceolate, 6–7 Χ 2.8–3 cm, with short stalk 2–3 mm, apex acuminate; ultimate pinnules sessile, separate from each other, oblong, 1–1.5 Χ ca. 0.5 cm, ± adnate to rachis, pinnatilobate to 1/3 of midvein, sharply acuminate; costa slightly prominent, secondary veins pinnate to teeth. Rachis pale castaneous, coarse, sparsely gray hairy. Sori circular, intramarginal, 3–6 pairs on two sides of midvein, on base of sinus, protected by reflexed teeth; indusium green, glabrous.

* Dense forests; ca. 1000 m. W Yunnan.

4. Hypolepis tenera Ching, Fl. Reipubl. Popularis Sin. 2: 370. 1959.

狭叶姬蕨  xia ye ji jue

Rhizome long creeping. Stipes remote, dark brown at base, 60–65 cm, ca. 2 mm in diam. at base, glabrous at base, coarse upward, with short brown hairs, with narrow longitudinal groove adaxially; lamina brown-green when dry, oblong-triangular, 75–80 Χ 25–30 cm, thinly papery, both surfaces sparsely bristly along veins, tripinnate, apex acuminate; pinnae 18–20 pairs, subopposite, basal pairs 10–12 cm apart, lanceolate, 20–25 Χ 5–6 cm, apex acuminate, with stipe ca. 1 cm, bipinnate; upper pairs shorter, lanceolate, 12–15 Χ 3–4 cm; pinnules 22–26 pairs, alternate, anadromous, 1–2 cm apart, lanceolate, 3–4 Χ 1–1.2 cm, shortly stalked, pinnatipartite almost to rachillae, apex acuminate; ultimate lobes 8–10 pairs, ca. 5 Χ 1.5–1.8 mm, oblong, base conjoined, separated by sinus, entire or with teeth, apex obtuse and acute; midvein prominent abaxially, secondary veins pinnate to margin; rachis coarse, shallowly grooved on upper side, sparsely brown and shortly hairy. Sori circular, on base of sinus, 1–3 pairs; indusium brown-green, semicircular, entire.

* Dense forests. Yunnan.

5. Hypolepis tenuifolia (G. Forster) Bernhardi in Schrader, Neues J. Bot. 1(2): 34. 1805.

细叶姬蕨  xi ye ji jue

Lonchitis tenuifolia G. Forster, Fl. Ins. Austr. 80. 1786; Hypolepis alte-gracillima Hayata.

Rhizome long creeping, brown, densely covered with long rufous hairs. Fronds remote; stipe castaneous brown, 45–65 cm, ca. 4 mm in diam. at base, coarse, covered with long rufous hairs at base, glabrous upward, with groove adaxially; lamina brown when dry, oblong, 68–100 Χ 38–40 cm, papery, both surfaces almost glabrous, tripinnate, apex acuminate; pinnae 13–15 pairs, basal pairs subopposite, 10–15 cm apart, basal pair largest, triangular-oblong, 26–30 Χ 10–12 cm, base nearly truncate, shortly stalked, bipinnate, apex long acuminate; pinnules 14–15 pairs, subopposite, 2–2.5 cm apart; basal pair longest, lanceolate, ca. 6 Χ 2 cm, widest at base, nearly symmetric, subsessile, pinnatipartite, apex acuminate; ultimate pinnules lanceolate, basal ones ca. 1 Χ 0.4 cm, coarsely dentate, conjoined at base, apex rounded, both sides of rachis with narrow wing ca. 1 mm wide; lobes 4 or 5 pairs, with 2 or 3 rounded teeth, apex rounded; venation visible on both surfaces, slightly prominent abaxially, with 1 or 2 pairs on lobes, oblique. Rachis castaneous, abaxially almost glabrous, adaxially with hairs in groove. Sori circular, on base of sinus, protected by reflexed teeth; indusium gray, reniform.

* Near streams, in dense forests. Taiwan.


1 South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510650, China;