Taylor, W. Carl. 1976. Vascular flora of Jonca Creek, Ste Genevieve County, Missouri. Castanea. 41: 93-118.
Dryopteridaceae
Latin Diagnosis - Ab E. litano (Sodiro) C. Chr. squamis rhizomaticis 7 mm longis lanceolatis acuminatis rigidis pallide ginatis castaneis (nec 2-5 mm longis nec late ovatis tusis flaccidis flavescentibus), petiolis comparate longioribus, 1/8 usque ad 1/3 partem longitudinis foliaris (non usque ad 1/10 partem), foliis fertilibus comparate latioribus, magis lanceolatis (non linearibus) etiam statura ubique maiore, foliis usque ad 65(100) cm longis (non usque 35 cm) differt.
Species Description - Plants epiphytic; rhizomes compact, erect, 6-8 mm in diameter, densely scaly, the scales lanceolate, acuminate, lustrous, castaneous with narrow pale edges, 4-7 x 0.6-1 mm, entire to erose; phyllopodia distinct, 1- 2.5 cm long; leaves fasciculate, to 65(100) x 3.5(5.5) cm; petioles 1/8-1/3 the sterile leaf length, stramineous to orange, winged 0.1-0.3 mm on both sides by the decurrent blade bases, densely scaly, the scales proximally lanceolate, becoming more ovate distally, basally entire, apically short-ciliate, 1-6 x 0.5-1 mm, basally castaneous with pale edges, apically yellowish, loosely appressed, imbricate, concentrated on the blade; blades linear-oblanceolate, chartaceous, apically broadly acute to obtuse, basally narrowly cuneate grading into long-decurrent, narrow petiole wings, margins cartilaginous; veins evident, free, ca. 1-1.5 mm apart, set at ca. 75' to costae, hydathodes lacking but vein endings somewhat thickened; costae conspicuously raised abaxially; blade scales adaxially moderately dense, ovate to lanceolate, long-ciliate, 0.2-0.7 x 0.1-0.4 mm, whitish, appressed, abaxially surface glabrous, costal scales moderately dense, similar to the petiole scales but slightly smaller, scales of the leaf margins ovate, ciliate, 0.3-0.7 x 0.3-0.5 mm, yellowish; fertile leaves 2/3 to equal the length of the sterile, petioles ca. 1/3 the leaf length, blades about 2/3 the width of the sterile, linear- lanceolate, obtuse with the central veins extruding 0.5-1 mm at the apices; intersporan- gial scales lacking.
(Fig. 10 A-D)
This species differs from E. litanum (Sodiro) C. Chr. by its 4-7 mm long, lanceolate, acuminate, rigid, pale-edged castaneous (vs. 2-5 mm long, broadly ovate, obtuse, flaccid, yellowish) rhizome scales, relatively longer petioles (1/8-1/3 vs. up to 1/10 of the total leaf length), relatively broader, more lanceolate (vs. linear) fertile leaves, and larger overall size (leaves to 65(100) cm vs. to 35 cm long). Another similar species is E. megalurum Mickel, but that has rhizome scales ca. 1 mm long and shorter petioles. The Peruvian specimen cited above was listed as E. litanum by Mickel (1991), but our re-examination has shown that it belongs with this new species. As a result, E. litanum is now known to occur only on the western side of the Andes in Ecuador and Colombia, and E. palmarum on the eastern side of the Andes in Peru and Bolivia. At the type locality, E. palmarum is locally fairly common in humid montane forests at 450-1650 m. This species is named after the village of El Palmar in Carrasco National Park, close to where the Bolivian collections of this species have been made.