Monographs Details:
Authority:
Labiak Evangelista, Paulo H. 2013. Grammitid ferns (Polypodiaceae). I.. Fl. Neotrop. Monogr. 111: 1--130. (Published by NYBG Press)
Labiak Evangelista, Paulo H. 2013. Grammitid ferns (Polypodiaceae). I.
Family:
Polypodiaceae
Polypodiaceae
Synonyms:
Polypodium hombersleyi Maxon, Ctenopteris hombersleyi (Maxon) Copel., Grammitis hombersleyi (Maxon) Lellinger
Polypodium hombersleyi Maxon, Ctenopteris hombersleyi (Maxon) Copel., Grammitis hombersleyi (Maxon) Lellinger
Description:
Species Description - Plants epiphytic; fronds erect to arcuate, determinate; rhizome erect, radial, with ventral root insertion, scaly, the scales 0.5-0.7 x 0.1-0.2 mm, lanceolate, the apex short-attenuate, clathrate, dark brown, ciliate, the cilia simple, present on scale margins and apex; petiole 0.5-1 x 0.2 mm, dark brown, narrowly winged, glabrescent or sparsely pubescent, the hairs ca. 0.2 mm long, appressed, 1-furcate, 3-celled, whitish; lamina to 8 cm long, lanceolate, membranaceous, deeply pinnatisect, 10-20 pairs of segments, abruptly reduced at the base with 1-2 basal segments about Vi shorter than the median ones, broadest above the base, not showing periodic constrictions, the apex gradually reduced, pinnatifid, not ending in a conform or subconform segment; rachis slightly flexuous, with dark sclerenchyma visible on both sides, sparsely pubescent abaxially, glabrescent adaxially, hairs ca. 0.1 mm long, appressed, 1-furcate, 3-celled, whitish; segments ca. 0.5-0.7 cm x 0.3-0.4 mm, plane, set 70-80° to rachis, widened and asymmetric at the base, decurrent basiscopically, cuneate and lobulate acroscopically, the base attached parallel on the rachis (i.e., both sides inserted along the same radius), the lobule not overlapping the base of the next segment, the apex obtuse, the margin deeply incised on both sides, the lobules obtuse to mucronate, glabrous, abaxial lamina surface glabrescent, the hairs similar to those of the rachis abaxially, adaxial lamina surface glabrous; sinuses narrower than the segments; venation pinnate, with 2-3 (-4) pairs of veins per segment; costae with blackish sclerenchyma obscured by laminar tissue on both sides, sparsely pubescent abaxially, the hairs similar to those of the rachis abaxially, glabrous adaxially; veins simple, without blackish sclerenchyma, ending in hydathodes that sometimes have calcareous deposits; sori medial, rounded, not protruding beyond the costa and margin, up to 2-3 pairs per segment, superficial; sporangial capsules glabrous.
Species Description - Plants epiphytic; fronds erect to arcuate, determinate; rhizome erect, radial, with ventral root insertion, scaly, the scales 0.5-0.7 x 0.1-0.2 mm, lanceolate, the apex short-attenuate, clathrate, dark brown, ciliate, the cilia simple, present on scale margins and apex; petiole 0.5-1 x 0.2 mm, dark brown, narrowly winged, glabrescent or sparsely pubescent, the hairs ca. 0.2 mm long, appressed, 1-furcate, 3-celled, whitish; lamina to 8 cm long, lanceolate, membranaceous, deeply pinnatisect, 10-20 pairs of segments, abruptly reduced at the base with 1-2 basal segments about Vi shorter than the median ones, broadest above the base, not showing periodic constrictions, the apex gradually reduced, pinnatifid, not ending in a conform or subconform segment; rachis slightly flexuous, with dark sclerenchyma visible on both sides, sparsely pubescent abaxially, glabrescent adaxially, hairs ca. 0.1 mm long, appressed, 1-furcate, 3-celled, whitish; segments ca. 0.5-0.7 cm x 0.3-0.4 mm, plane, set 70-80° to rachis, widened and asymmetric at the base, decurrent basiscopically, cuneate and lobulate acroscopically, the base attached parallel on the rachis (i.e., both sides inserted along the same radius), the lobule not overlapping the base of the next segment, the apex obtuse, the margin deeply incised on both sides, the lobules obtuse to mucronate, glabrous, abaxial lamina surface glabrescent, the hairs similar to those of the rachis abaxially, adaxial lamina surface glabrous; sinuses narrower than the segments; venation pinnate, with 2-3 (-4) pairs of veins per segment; costae with blackish sclerenchyma obscured by laminar tissue on both sides, sparsely pubescent abaxially, the hairs similar to those of the rachis abaxially, glabrous adaxially; veins simple, without blackish sclerenchyma, ending in hydathodes that sometimes have calcareous deposits; sori medial, rounded, not protruding beyond the costa and margin, up to 2-3 pairs per segment, superficial; sporangial capsules glabrous.
Discussion:
Lellingeria hombersleyi closely resembles L. randalli from Jamaica, Costa Rica, Panama and Guyana, sharing with it the small size, ciliate rhizome scales, and crenulate segments. Lellingeria randalli, however, has unequal segments (i.e., the acroscopic side is often crenulate, and the basiscopic side entire or only slightly crenulate), and the rachis is covered by laminar tissue on the adaxial side (dark sclerenchyma not visible). In L. hombersleyi, the segments are symmetrically incised, and the rachis is not covered by laminar tissue on both sides. Both species are similar to small forms of L. suprasculpta, but that species has glabrous rhizome scales.Although this species was not included in the phylogenetic studies performed by Labiak et al. (2010b), its morphology suggests that it may belong to the same clade as Lellingeria randallii, the tenuicula clade (Labiak et al. 2010b).
Lellingeria hombersleyi closely resembles L. randalli from Jamaica, Costa Rica, Panama and Guyana, sharing with it the small size, ciliate rhizome scales, and crenulate segments. Lellingeria randalli, however, has unequal segments (i.e., the acroscopic side is often crenulate, and the basiscopic side entire or only slightly crenulate), and the rachis is covered by laminar tissue on the adaxial side (dark sclerenchyma not visible). In L. hombersleyi, the segments are symmetrically incised, and the rachis is not covered by laminar tissue on both sides. Both species are similar to small forms of L. suprasculpta, but that species has glabrous rhizome scales.Although this species was not included in the phylogenetic studies performed by Labiak et al. (2010b), its morphology suggests that it may belong to the same clade as Lellingeria randallii, the tenuicula clade (Labiak et al. 2010b).
Distribution:
Trinidad and Tobago South America| San José Costa Rica Central America|
Trinidad and Tobago South America| San José Costa Rica Central America|