肾蕨科 shen jue ke
Xing Fuwu ([characters]), Wang Faguo([characters]); Peter Hovenkamp
Ferns, medium-sized, terrestrial or creeping on rocks or small trees. Rhizome with peltate scales, dorsiventral, long-creeping, or short and erect, sometimes bearing stolons or tubers, dictyostelic. Leaves distant or tufted, shortly to long stipitate; lamina lanceolate to elliptic-lanceolate, pinnate; pinnae glabrous or sometimes finely hairy; veins forked, free, ending in submarginal hydathodes. Sori round, terminal on a veinlet, dorsal; indusium round-reniform, often with a narrow sinus, or lunulate, broadly attached. Spores monolete.
Three genera with ca. 50 species: most tropical regions of the world; two genera, seven species in China [??number endemic].
1a. Rhizome long creeping, twining; leaves distant; stipes articulate to a long stipelike phyllopodium 1. Arthropteris
1b. Rhizome short and erect; stipes tufted, not articulate ....................................... 2. Nephrolepis
爬树蕨属 pa shu jue shu
Plants epiphytes, with long twining, wiry rhizomes. Rhizomes with peltate scales, with 2 rows of fronds. Fronds distant, articulate to phyllopodium; lamina pinnate; pinnae close together, subsessile. Venation free, 2- or 3 Χ forked. Sori round, in a single row between costa and margin; indusia reniform; sporangia long stipitate, annulus with 1013 thickened cells. Spores elliptic; perispore granulate. n = 41.
About 20 species: Madagascar, New Zealand, Arabia, Philippines, Pacific islands; one species in China.
爬树蕨 pa shu jue
Aspidium palisotii Desvaux, Ges. Naturf. Berl. Mag. 5: 320. 1811; Arthropteris guinanensis H. G. Zhou & Y. Y. Huang; [??add A. obliterata (R. Brown) J. Smith].
Rhizome long creeping, up to 23 m, ca. 2 mm in diam., covered with ovate, dark brown, fimbriate scales. Fronds 510 cm apart; stipe 12 cm; lamina lanceolate, 1540 Χ 48.5 cm; pinnae 3040 pairs, alternate, 24 Χ ca. 1 cm, articulate to rachis, sessile, base asymmetrical, usually auriculate on upper side, margin undulate or crenate, apex rounded; lower pinnae shortened, deflexed; rachis densely covered with brown glandular hairs and scales abaxially, shallowly grooved adaxially. Sori nearer margin than costa; indusia brown, round-reniform, glabrous.
Climbing on tree trunks or rocks in forests; 200600 m. Guangxi, Hainan, Taiwan, Yunnan [India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines, Vietnam; Africa, Australia, Pacific Islands (Polynesia)].
肾蕨属 shen jue shu
Plants terrestrial or epiphytic. Rhizome erect, short, dictyostelic, producing long wiry stolons and sometimes tubers, which give rise to new plants. Stipes tufted; lamina pinnate; pinnae sessile, articulate to rachis, lanceolate or falcate, base usually asymmetrical, often auriculate on upper side, margin crenate. Sori round, terminal on a veinlet; indusia round-reniform, often with a narrow sinus or lunulate, with broad sinus. x = 41.
About 20[??30] species: most tropical regions of the world; six species in China.
1a. Fronds 11.5 cm wide; lamina elliptic or flabellate, ca. 5 mm ................................. 1. N. duffii
1b. Fronds more than 4 cm wide; lamina lanceolate or falcate, more than 2 cm.
2a. Fronds usually pendulous; middle pinnae falcate ....................................... 2. N. falciformis
2b. Fronds erect; middle pinnae lanceolate.
3a. Sori lunulate, with broad sinus; middle pinnae 23 cm ........................... 5. N. auriculata
4a. Sori round-reniform with narrow sinus; middle pinnae 48 cm.
4a. Sori not close to edge of pinnae (borne between margin and costa); upper base of pinnae not or hardly auriculate ....................................................................................... 3. N. biserrata
4b. Sori near edge of pinnae; upper base of pinnae auriculate .................. 4. N. hirsutula
圆叶肾蕨 yuan ye shen jue
Fronds brownish green or brown when dry, herbaceous, both surfaces with appressed scales; stipe grayish brown, 1022 cm, with appressed brown, linear or ovate-lanceolate scales; scales membranous, margin fimbriate; lamina linear, 3060 Χ 11.5 cm, irregularly 12 Χ branched in upper portion; pinnae numerous, elliptic or flabellate, basal ones shorter and more widely spaced, upper ones close or touching each other; central pinnae ca. 5 Χ 7 mm, base usually truncate, margin irregularly crenate; rachis with appressed brown, ovate-lanceolate scales. Fertile fronds not seen.
Cultivated in NW Yunnan [originally from Melanesia, probably a form of N. hirsutula].
镰叶肾蕨 lian ye shen jue
Rhizome with dark brown scales. Fronds usually pendulous, thinly herbaceous, both surfaces glabrous; stipe 1025 cm, with sparse ovate scales; lamina broadly lanceolate, 60120 Χ 911 cm, pinnate; basal pinnae distant, small, elliptic, 1.52.8 Χ 11.5 cm, base truncate and slightly auriculate, apex rounded; middle pinnae falcate, 56 Χ 1.51.8 cm, base truncate and slightly auriculate, apex acuminate. Sori round, ca. 2 mm apart, submarginal; indusia brown, reniform.
Epiphytic on trunks in forests; 600800 m. Yunnan [Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam; SW Asia, Pacific islands].
长叶肾蕨 chang ye shen jue
Rhizome with rufous, lanceolate scales. Stipe grayish brown, 1050 cm, ca. 4 mm in diam., covered with lanceolate and fibrillar scales at base; lamina brownish green when dry, narrowly elliptic, 0.72 m or longer, 1430 cm wide, papery, with sparse lanceolate or linear scales when young, glabrous on both surfaces when mature; pinnae 3055 pairs, 1.53 cm apart, subsessile, margin minutely serrulate, teeth remote, apex acute or acuminate, basal pairs of pinnae gradually shorter. Sori submedial, 12 mm apart, round, 1.52 mm in diam.; indusia brown, round-reniform, glabrous, sinus narrow.
Forests; near sea level up to 800 m. Guangdong, Hainan, Taiwan, Yunnan [pantropical: Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Japan (including Ryukyus), Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam; Africa, SW Asia, Australia, North America, Pacific islands, South America].
1a. Base of pinnae not auriculate on acroscopic side ........................................ 3a. var. biserrata
1b. Base of pinnae auriculate (auricle ca. 1 cm) on acroscopic side ................. 3b. var. auriculata
长叶肾蕨(原变种) chang ye shen jue (yuan bian zhong)
Aspidium biserratum Swartz, J. Bot. (Schrader) 1800(2): 32. 1801; Hypopeltis biserrata (Swartz) Bory; Nephrodium biserratum (Swartz) C. Presl; N. exaltatum (Linnaeus) R. Brown var. biserrata (Swartz) Baker; N. hirsutulum (G. Forster) C. Presl var. biserrata (Swartz) Kuntze; Nephrolepis rufescens (Schrader) C. Presl ex Wawra.
Middle pinnae 819 Χ 12.5 cm, base of pinnae asymmetrical but not auriculate acroscopically; rachis sparsely hairy.
Forests; near sea level up to 800 m. Guangdong, Hainan, Taiwan, Yunnan [Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Japan, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam; Africa, SW Asia, Australia, North America, Pacific islands, South America].
耳叶肾蕨 er ye shen jue
Nephrolepis platyotis Kunze.
Middle pinnae 1416 Χ 1.62.2 cm, base of pinnae auriculate (auricle ca. 1 cm) on acroscopic side; rachis densely covered with long hairs abaxially; pinnae with brown fibrillar scales along costae abaxially.
* Hainan (Baoting, Lingshui).
毛叶肾蕨 mao ye shen jue
Nephrodium brownii Desvaux, Mιm. Soc. Linn. Paris 6: 252. 1827; Aspidium floccigerum Blume; Davallia multiflora Roxburgh; Nephrodium hirsutulum (G. Forster) C. Presl; Nephrolepis exaltata (Linnaeus) Schott var. hirsutula (G. Forster) Baker; N. floccigera (Blume) T. Moore; N. multiflora (Roxburgh) F. M. Jarrett ex C. V. Morton; Polypodium hirsutulum G. Forster.
Rhizome erect, short, producing long, dark brown stolons; scales lanceolate to ovate-lanceolate, appressed, with rufous center and brown, densely fimbriate margin. Fronds dark green when dry, bearing scattered linear scales along veins abaxially, with sparse curved hairs and stellate scales adaxially. Stipe grayish brown, 1545 cm, 23 mm in diam., grooved adaxially, with appressed brown, lanceolate scales; lamina broadly lanceolate or elliptic-lanceolate, 3070(100) Χ 915 cm, pinnate; pinnae numerous (2050 pairs), approximate, basal ones gradually shorter and more widely spaced, upper ones never so close as to touch each other, subsessile; middle pinnae lanceolate or linear-lanceolate, 48 Χ 11.3 cm, base unequal, triangularly auriculate on acroscopic side, margin obviously crenate, apex acuminate; rachis densely covered with brown, fibrous scales on upper side. Sori ca. 2 mm apart, submarginal, round; indusia rufous, round-reniform.
Forest understories; 2001200 m. Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan, Taiwan, Yunnan [Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Japan (including Ryukyus), Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam; SW Asia, Australia, North America (introduced), Pacific islands, South America (introduced)].
肾蕨 shen jue
Polypodium auriculatum Linnaeus, Sp. Pl. 2: 1088. 1753; Aspidium tuberosum Bory ex Willdenow; Nephrodium tuberosum (Bory ex Willdenow) Desvaux; Nephrolepis cordifolia (Linnaeus) C. Presl [??delete: auct. non]; N. tuberosa (Bory ex Willdenow) C. Presl.
Plants terrestrial or epiphytic. Rhizome erect, short, covered with yellowish brown, narrowly lanceolate scales; stolons bearing scaly tubers (11.5 cm in diam.). Stipe 515 cm, densely covered with same scales as on rhizome; lamina linear-lanceolate or narrowly lanceolate, 2575 Χ 36 cm, pinnate; pinnae 40120 pairs, approximate, lanceolate, 1.52.5 Χ 0.61.2 cm, unequal at base, margin serrulate to crenate, auricle acute, lower pinnae obtuse, gradually shorter upward; rachis with sparse fibriform scales. Sori lunulate or rarely round-reniform; indusia brown, elongate.
Forests, along streams; near sea level up to 1500 m. Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Hainan, Hunan, Taiwan, Xizang, Yunnan, Zhejiang [Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam; Africa, SW Asia, Australia, North America, Pacific islands, South America].
Slender plants of Nephrolepis auriculata are sometimes mistaken for N. undulata (Afzel.) J. Sm. (syn: N. occidentalis, N. delicatula, N. paucifrondosa), but this species has not (?yet) been found in China. It can be recognized by the slender, seasonal rhizome, which usually does not bear more than one or two fronds at the same time. Nephrolepis auriculata forms perennial rhizomes, which regularly bear 5 or more well-developed fronds.
[This is a common, widespread species, often misidentified as Nephrolepis cordifolia. The juicy tubers are sometimes chewed as a refreshment (Fl. Taiwan, ed. 2, 1: 201. 1994).]