Melpomene melanosticta (Kunze) A.R.Sm. & R.C.Moran

  • Authority

    Lehnert, Marcus. 2013. Grammitid ferns (Polypodiaceae). II. . Fl. Neotrop. Monogr. 112: 1--121. (Published by NYBG Press)

  • Family

    Polypodiaceae

  • Scientific Name

    Melpomene melanosticta (Kunze) A.R.Sm. & R.C.Moran

  • Type

    Type. Peru. Huanuco:  In flor. Peruv, rupibus aridis ad Cuesta de Carpis [Carpish], 1829, E. P. Poeppig s.n. (holotype, LZ destroyed; isotypes, B?, W?).

  • Synonyms

    Polypodium melanostictum Kunze, Ctenopteris melanosticta (Kunze) Copel., Grammitis melanosticta (Kunze) F.Seym., Polypodium calvum Maxon, Ctenopteris calva (Maxon) Copel.

  • Description

    Species Description - Plants predominantly epiphytic, sometimes epilithic. Rhizomes compact to short-erect, 0.8—1.0(—1.2) mm diam. Fronds (4-)6-21(-30) cm long, patent, stiff, inserted onto the rhizomes at acute angles, closely arranged (internodes 1 mm or less), caespitose. Rhizome scales to 1.5(-3.6)x0.5-0.6 mm, (8—)10—12(—14) cells wide across bases, clathrate, dark brown to black, weakly iridescent, broadly lanceate, cordate at bases, acute at tips, apical cells 3-8, in nodding cluster; rhizome scales sometimes with small cell-bearing lobes along the margins, structurally similar to the apices. Petioles (2-)5-15(-30) mm long, (0.3-)0.6-0.8 mm thick, alate throughout, glabrous; simple and branched clavate hairs of crosiers and young fronds sometimes persistent on older fronds. Laminae to 110-190 x 6-12(—15) mm, linear to narrow-elliptic, broadest in the middle, cuneate to decurrent at bases, short- to long-acute at tips. Rachises dark brown to black, planar and slightly sunken adaxially, planar to weakly hemi-spherically protruding abaxially, glabrous. Largest segments (1.5-)2.0-6.0(-7.0) x (1.5—)1.8—3.0 mm (1.5—2.0 times longer than broad), segments patent or weakly ascending (75-90°) equilateral or weakly decurrent towards the bases, fully adnate, lunate to oblong with obtuse tips, midveins not visible; segments planar to subgibbose, glabrous except for sori; proximal segment pairs weakly to strongly reduced, the lowermost pair sometimes auriculiform; stomata often visible as brown to red dots abaxially. Sori (l-)2-4 pairs per segment, weakly immersed in laminar tissue, without hairs, or rarely some sori with 1-2 acicular hairs 0.5 mm long.

  • Discussion

    The darkened stomata that gave Melpomene melanosticta its name do not occur in all fronds and not even in all specimens seen. The dark color seems to be dependent on the provenance and the drying conditions and has been observed in other species as well vernicosa and M. xiphopteroides). Melpomene melanosticta may be confused with M. xiphopteroides because both often grow together and have similar larninar cutting, but that species has few to many, rather long, setiform and ciliform hairs clustered in the sori and abundant on the petioles (vs. completely glabrous or occasionally with short hairs in sori in M. melanosticta).

    Although no authentic specimen of the type of Polypodium melanostictum Kunze has been found during this study, the rightful application of the epithet is not doubted. In the discussion, Kunze (1834) compared Melpomene melanosticta with M. flabelliformis (as Polypodium rigescens Bory ex Willd.) and M. peruviana (as Polypodium peruvianum Desv.) as superficially similar species with linear-elliptic laminae and mentioned the hairs in the sori and the creeping rhizomes of these species to distinguish them from M. melanosticta. Thus, it can be concluded that the holotype had no hairs in the sori and compact or at least very short-creeping rhizomes, which is in concordance with the general circumscription of M. melanosticta (see Tryon & Stolze, 1993; Mickel & Smith, 2004). Together with the information about the darkened stomata abaxially (subtus punctulatis in Kuntze, 1834), it becomes unambiguously clear that the lost type belonged to M. melanosticta as defined here because other species with darkened stomata have either many acicular to long, setiform/ciliform hairs in the sori (M. firma, M. jimenezii, M. vernicosa, and M. xiphopteroides) or horizontally creeping rhizomes (M. moniliformis).

    Efforts to recollect Melpomene melanosticta at the type locality yielded only erroneously taken plants of Terpsichore anfractuosa (Kunze ex Klotzsch) B. Leon & A. R. m., in which the characteristic, black, fungal fruiting bodies (Smith, 1993) were lacking or scarce on most fronds, but dark stomata were present. Such plants of T. anfractuosa still can be distinguished from M. melanosticata by their proliferous roots (vs. not proliferous in M. melanosticta) and the scattered hairs on their rachises (vs. rachises always glabrous).

    Melpomene melanosticta is called atarisi in the language of the Tacana Indians in Bolivia (Macia, 2004). The women of the tribe use the plants as material for necklaces that are worn for the long-lasting fragrance.

    The epithet means “dark-spotted” and refers to the often dark reddish brown stomata mentioned in the diagnosis.

  • Distribution

    Mexico (fide Mickel & Smith, 2004), Guatemala, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Guadeloupe. Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname. Ecuador, Peru, Brazil, and Bolivia (Fig. 23C), in moist montane and submontane forests at 600-1550(-1900)m.

    Amazonas Brazil South America| São Paulo Brazil South America| Roraima Brazil South America| Bahia Brazil South America| Rio de Janeiro Brazil South America| Espirito Santo Brazil South America| Minas Gerais Brazil South America| Guyana South America| Cartago Costa Rica Central America| Alta Verapaz Guatemala Central America| Beni Bolivia South America| La Paz Bolivia South America| Imbabura Ecuador South America| Morona-Santiago Ecuador South America| Pichincha Ecuador South America| Zamora-Chinchipe Ecuador South America| Puno Peru South America| San Martín Peru South America| Sipaliwini Suriname South America| Amazonas Venezuela South America| Bolívar Venezuela South America| Táchira Venezuela South America| Yaracuy Venezuela South America| Boyacá Colombia South America| Caquetá Colombia South America| Chocó Colombia South America| Meta Colombia South America| Santander Colombia South America| Valle Colombia South America| Santiago de Cuba Cuba South America| Santiago Rodríguez Dominican Republic South America| Basse-Terre Guadeloupe South America|