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-creeping, rarely moderately creeping, 4-10 mm diam.; rhizome scales linear-lanceolate, orange to dull tan or dirty brown, occasionally somewhat lustrous, to 8 mm long, entire; phyllopodia distinct; fronds clumped, rarely slightly spaced, 16-70 cm long, 2.4-7.0 cm wide; stipe usually ¼-1/3 the frond length, glabrous or sparsely clothed with spreading, lanceolate, irregularly toothed scales; blade narrowly elliptic, coriaceous, apex acuminate, base cuneate to broadly cuneate; veins obscure, free, simple to twice-forked, ca. 1 mm apart, at 70-80° angle, hydathodes lacking; blade surfaces glabrous or with minute stellate black hairs on the lower surface; fertile fronds about equal to the sterile fronds in dimensions but sometimes slightly narrower or with longer stipe; spores with short, slender crests with many minute holes in the spore surface, or with highly perforated crests.

Discussion:

Acrostichum sartorii Liebmann, Mexic. bregn. 166 (seors. 14). 1849. Syntypes. Mexico. Veracruz: Hac. de Mirador, Liebmann [Pl. Mex. 2430, 2752, 2753, Fl. Mex. 12, 14, 660, 661, 662] (C!). Lectotype (chosen here): Pl. Mex. 2430, Fl. Mex. 14 (C!). Acrostichum scapellum Kunze ex Fée, Mém. foug. 9: 1. 1857. Elaphoglossum scapellum (Kunze ex Fée) Moore, Index fil. 365. 1862. Type. Mexico. Veracruz: “Bois de la Cordillière,” Galeotti 6304 (P!). Acrostichum viride Fournier, Mexic. pl. 1: 66. 1872. Elaphoglossum viride (Fournier) Christensen, Index filic. 318. 1905. Type. Mexico. Veracruz: Hacienda de las Animas, Hahn 455 (P!). Elaphoglossum sartorii represents perhaps the most difficult complex in the genus. The blades are essentially glabrous (at most with minute stellate trichomidia abaxially), so the specimens lack a great source of characters. There is much variation in frond size, blade shape, and scale color, shape and size. Many of the specimens have long-decurrent blades, many stellate trichomidia abaxially, somewhat lustrous, dark-streaked rhizome scales, and oblanceolate fertile blades (including the type of E. sartorii). Others have shorter stipes, broadly cuneate blade bases, orange (to dirty brown) rhizome scales, and linear fertile blades. There are two distinctly different spore types seen in the Oaxacan plants; those with highly perforated, lacy crests seem to have more widely creeping rhizomes, whereas those with many small crests have rhizomes more compact, short-creeping to suberect. However, the variation does not seem to fall into consistent patterns, and we are here lumping together all those with stout rhizomes under the name E. sartorii. It is very close to but probably distinct from E. latifolium (Swartz) J. Smith of the West Indies.
Distribution:

Mexico North America| Panama Central America| Guatemala Central America|