Thelypteris obliterata (Sw.) Proctor
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Authority
Mickel, John T. & Beitel, Joseph M. 1988. Pteridophyte Flora of Oaxaca, Mexico. Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 46: 1-580.
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Family
Thelypteridaceae
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Scientific Name
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Description
Species Description - Rhizome short- to long-creeping; stipe 30-50 cm long, stramineous to tan, ± glabrous; rachis with stellate hairs ca. 0.1 mm long, glabrescent, without buds; lamina pinnate, to 50 cm long, 40 cm wide, with a conform terminal segment; pinnae (4-)5-10 pairs, stalked to 5 mm, alternate to subopposite, 10-20 cm long, (1.3-)2-3.5 cm wide, serrate (teeth oblique, acute) or shallowly lobed to one-third their width, the lower pinnae narrowed towards their entire cuneate or rounded base; veins 6-8(-11) pairs, the lower two pairs anastomosing with an excurrent branch to sinus, connivent with the next 2-3 pairs of veins; costae below puberulous with simple (a few stellate) hairs 0.1 mm long; leaf tissue above and below glabrous, chartaceous to subcoriaceous; sori exindusiate, in two convergent rows, the lower ones medial, the upper ones subcostular; sporangia with a few simple setae 0.1 mm long; 2n = ca. 108, with II and I at first metaphase.
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Discussion
Polypodium obliteratum Swartz, Prodr. veg. ind. occ. 132. 1788. Dryopteris obliterata (Swartz) Christensen, Index filic. 280. 1905. Type. Jamaica. Swartz s.n. (S; possible isotype B-Willd. 19680). Polypodium faucium Liebmann, Mexic. bregn. 209 (seors. 57). 1849. Lectotype (chosen by A. R. Smith, 1981: 232). Mexico. Veracruz: “Barranca de la Hacienda de Jovo, pr. Sta. María Tlapacoyo,” Liebmann [Pl. Mex. 2416, Fl. Mex. 736] (C!). This species most resembles and is allied to T. tetragona, T. toganetra, and T. imbricata and agrees with these in having a conform terminal pinna and lacking indusia, but it differs in having the pinnae merely serrulate or shallowly lobed one-third the distance to the costae and in having 3-4 pairs of veins anastomosing below the sinus with a common excurrent vein to the sinus. Mickel 7180 (Figs. 79G, H) is very likely T. obliterata or a hybrid involving this species. The shorter, narrower, more deeply incised pinnae, the more truncate pinna bases, and the somewhat reduced distal pinnae suggest that it may be a hybrid with a species like T. tetragona or T. imbricata. Both this collection and 6436 lack sporangial setae, which are found in most collections of T. obliterata.
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Distribution
In woods, especially near streams and in coffee understory; Ixtlán, Juchitán; 100-600 m. Mexico (Ver, Oax, Chis); Guat to Pan; Cuba, Jam, Hisp.
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