Monographs Details – Flora of Las Orquideas National Park

Monographs Details:

Authority:

Moguel Velázquez, Ana L. & Kessler, Michael. 2013. Grammitid ferns (Polypodiaceae). III. . Fl. Neotrop. Monogr. 113: 1--68. (Published by NYBG Press)

Family:

Polypodiaceae

Scientific Name:

Alansmia smithii (A.Rojas) Moguel & M.Kessler

Synonyms:

Terpsichore smithii A.Rojas

Description:

Species Description - Plants epiphytic or occasionally epipetric; rhizomes 0.5-2.0 cm long, short-creeping to suberect, radially symmetric, the scales linear-lanceolate, orange to castaneous, concolorous, dull, 0.8-3.0 x 0.2-0.5 mm, abundantly setulate and frequently also puberulent, the setae hyaline to orange or castaneous, as long as or often longer than the width, 0.2-0.4(-0.8) mm long, present on scale margins and occasionally also on surfaces, the hairs moderately dense to abundant, 0.05-0.10 mm long, simple, and turgid on scale margins and 0.1-0.2 mm long, turgid, and branched on apices; fronds 20-60 x 1—4(—7) cm, caespitose, pendulous, with indeterminate growth; stipes 0.5-2.5 cm x 0.3-0.5 mm, castaneous to black, with simple, hyaline to castaneous, 0.5-2.0 mm long setae and simple or branched, hyaline to yellow 0.1-0.3 mm long hairs; blades linear to linear-lanceolate, pinnatisect, thin-chartaceous, gradually tapering at both ends, with ca. 5-10 reduced segment pairs at the bases, these basal segments typically shortly deltate and completely adnate, with a very regular aspect; rachises castaneous to black, slightly collenchymatous to sclerenchymatous, puberulent like the stipes and moderately densely covered with simple and abaxially also bifurcate and stellate, 3- to 5-branched, yellow to castaneous (often castaneous only at the bases and apically hyaline or yellow), 0.5-2.0 mm long setae, the stellate setae sometimes with some thin-walled, hair-like rays; pinnae perpendicular to the rachises, contiguous to 0.2 cm separated at the bases, 0.8-2.0(-4.0) x 0.2-0.8(-1.0) cm, 2.5 to 4.5 times as long as wide, oblong-deltate to linear-deltate or occasionally linear, often retro-flexed, symmetric to slightly asymmetric at the bases, adnate to curved acroscopically and adnate to decurrent basiscopically, apices round to bluntly acute, margins setose, the setae simple and bifurcate, a few also stellate, 3-branched, yellow to castaneous, 0.5-2.0 mm long; sinuses 1-8 mm wide; veins free, 1-furcate, ending medially to inframedially, the costae obscure adaxially and obscure or rarely conspicuous abaxially; blade surfaces adaxially and abaxially sparsely to moderately densely covered with simple, hyaline to castaneous, 0.5-2.0 mm long setae between the veins and simple or bifurcate, hyaline to castaneous, 0.5-2.0 mm long setae on the costae, also with simple or branched, hyaline to yellow, 0.1-0.3 mm long hairs; hydathodes inconspicuous, lime dots lacking; sori round, arising at the vein apices, up to 15(—25) per pinna, frequently present only on the apical thirds and sometimes clumped there; receptacles not or sparsely setose; sporangia ciliate, the cilia ca. 0.3-4.0 mm long.

Discussion:

Alansmia smithii has a comparatively simple, sparse indument of moderately dense, simple, hyaline to yellow, 0.5-2.0 mm long setae on blade surfaces, stipes, and rachises; of simple, bifurcate or stellate, and hyaline to castaneous-reddish setae on the blade margins; and also of scattered, yellow to castaneous, bifurcate and stellate, 3- to 5-branched setae abaxially on the rachises (mixed with the simple setae). Hyaline, simple or branched, turgid hairs are also present, but white, waxy, globose hairs of A. laxa- type are absent. The shape of the pinnae is variable (oblong-deltate to linear-deltate), but they are consistent in often being contiguous basally or only slightly separated (maximally 2 mm) and decurrent.

Alansmia smithii is closely related to A. cultrata, and specimens have been identified peviously as Terpsichore cultrata, e.g., by Tryon & Stolze (1993) and Mickel & Smith (2004). However, A. smithii differs almost always from A. cultrata by the larger fronds (1—4(—7) x 20-60 cm vs. 1.5-2.5(-3) x 10-20(-25) cm) with indeterminate growth (vs. some fronds with determinate growth) and gradually tapering (vs. abruptly reduced) apices. The pinnae of A. smithii are linear-deltate to oblong-deltate with obtuse to acute apices, contiguous to 2 mm apart at the rachises, and often decurrent basiscopically and acroscopically, whereas the pinnae of A. cultrata are oblong with obtuse to rounded apices, 2-5 mm apart at the rachises, and never decurrent acroscopically but curved to gibbose. With a low magnification, it is possible to see that the rachises of A. smithii are slightly winged at least apically, in contrast to the free rachises of A. cultrata.

The specimens of Alansmia cultrata from the Antilles differ by the more strongly branched, longer, and darker-colored setae of the blade margins and the shiny rhizome scales. On the continent, both species are difficult to differentiate, and further study is necessary to clarify if the specimens treated here as A. cultrata are nearer to A. smithii or the Antillean A. cultrata. Alansmia smithii also presumably is closely related to A. stella, and their relationships are discussed under that species.