Monographs Details:
Authority:

Mickel, John T. & Beitel, Joseph M. 1988. Pteridophyte Flora of Oaxaca, Mexico. Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 46: 1-580.
Family:

Dryopteridaceae
Description:

Species Description - Rhizome short- to moderately creeping, ca. 5 mm diam.; rhizome scales linear-deltate, hairlike most of their length, lustrous reddish-brown to nearly black, to 17 mm long, entire; phyllopodia distinct; fronds clumped or a few mm apart, 13-62 cm long, 1.7-3.8 cm wide; stipe ½-3/5 the frond length, glabrous; blade narrowly elliptic, coriaceous, apex acute to obtuse, base cuneate; veins obscure, free, curved, simple or once-forked, 1-1.5 mm apart, at ca. 70° angle, hydathodes lacking; blade surfaces glabrous to sparsely beset with minute, linear, hastate scales to 1-2 mm long; fertile fronds slightly shorter to somewhat longer than the sterile but otherwise nearly equal in blade size and shape; spores with broad, low, smooth ridges.

Discussion:

Acrostichum glaucum Fée, Mém. foug. 8: 67. 1857, nom. illeg., non Cavanilles, 1799. Type. Mexico. Veracruz: Córdoba, 1854, Schajfner 16 (P!). Elaphoglossum eucraspedum Christ, Bull. Herb. Boissier II, 7: 415. 1907. Type. Mexico. Chiapas, Münch 1902 (isotype P!). This species is most easily distinguished by the obtuse blade tip and the dark, bristle-like rhizome scales. Elaphoglossum guatemalense may sometimes be fairly blunt-tipped but has shorter, broader rhizome scales and consistently has a more slender rhizome and minute stellate hairs on the lower blade surface. Elaphoglossum sartorii has orange or brownish rhizome scales, and its blade is acuminate. This species was originally described illegitimately by Fée as a later homonym, so Moore’s use of the name under Elaphoglossum made him the sole author. The type has golden rhizome scales in contrast to the dark maroon scales typical of most specimens. NY specimens from Orizaba have castaneous scales and material from Jalisco, Guerrero and Michoacán have golden scales, so apparently scale color is variable in the northern part of the range.
Distribution:

Mexico North America| Guatemala Central America|