Campyloneurum ensifolium J.Sm.

  • Authority

    Mickel, John T. & Smith, Alan R. 2004. The pteridophytes of Mexico. Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 88: 1-1054.

  • Family

    Polypodiaceae

  • Scientific Name

    Campyloneurum ensifolium J.Sm.

  • Description

    Species Description - Rhizomes short-creeping, usually not pruinose, 2–4(–5) mm diam.; rhizome scales dense, tan to brownish, ovate-lanceolate, 3–4 x 1–1.5 mm, clathrate, the cells roundish to squarish or at least isodiametric; fronds 15–60 cm long, clumped (1–4 mm apart); stipes absent or extremely short, not clearly demarcated; blades coriaceous or thick-chartaceous, linear, 0.4–1 cm wide, gradually tapering at bases to the rhizomes or nearly so, longacuminate at apices, often curved, margins often strongly revolute and cartilaginous; lime dots absent adaxially; areoles 1 or 2 rows between midribs and margins, excurrent veinlet one per primary areole; main lateral veins immersed and not discernible, secondary veins irregularly anastomosing; sori mostly in single rows running the length of the blades, one row on each side of the midrib, rarely an incomplete, irregular second row present outside of the first row.

  • Discussion

     

    Polypodium ensifolium Willd., Sp. Pl., ed. 4, 5(1): 152. 1810. Polypodium angustifolium Sw. var. ensifolium (Willd.) Hicken, Revista Mus. La Plata, Secc. Bot. 5: 271. 1908. Campyloneurum angustifolium (Sw.) Fe´e var. ensifolium (Willd.) Farw., Amer. Midl. Naturalist 2: 296. 1931. Type. Said to be from Peru, Ne´e s.n. (B-Willd. 19610, fiche UC!; photos BM, USM), but Lellinger (1988: 34) and Leo´n (1992) speculated that Ne´e probably collected it in Mexico.

    Unverified, Doubtful, or Mistaken Reports. Mich (Hinton et al. 15685, MO, US, and 15543, MO, cited by Leo´n, 1992, but not verified). Sin (Breedlove 35732, MO, cited by Leo´n, 1992, but not verified). Ver (Barnett et al. 85a, MO; Matuda 208, MO; Nee & Hansen 18570, F; Nee & Taylor 26818, F; Nee 29080, F, all cited by Leo´n, 1992, but not verified).

    This species is closely related to C. angustifolium and is often regarded as a variety of that, but Lellinger (1988) and Leo´n (1992) clarified the species’ differences, namely that C. ensifolium has rhizome scales with cells rounded to squarish or at least isodiametric (vs. elongate, 2–3 times as long as wide), scales generally acute at the tips and curling at the edges, and blades often narrower and usually curved (vs. straight). From C. amphostenon, C. ensifolium differs by the narrower, curved, coriaceous and revolute-margined blades, fewer rows of vein areoles and sori between midribs and blade margins, narrower rhizome scales, and occurrence at lower elevations. Campyloneurum ensifolium seems to occur predominantly along the Pacific Coastal states in Mexico to El Salvador (and perhaps further south). It is certainly much more common in Mexico than C. angustifolium in states northwest of Guerrero

  • Distribution

    Epiphytic or occasionally on mossy boulders, in lowland and montane forests; 200-1800 m. Mexico; Guat, Salv (Jaurequi 87, UC). León (1992) also cited specimens from Honduras and Nicaragua, but these have not been verified.

    Mexico North America| Honduras Central America| Nicaragua Central America| El Salvador Central America| Guatemala Central America|