Polypodium phyllitidis L.
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Authority
Acevedo-Rodríguez, Pedro & collaborators. 1996. Flora of St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands. Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 78: 1-581.
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Family
Polypodiaceae
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Scientific Name
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Description
Species Description - Epiphytic or less often epilithic fern. Rhizome short-creeping, 5-8 mm thick, enveloped in a mass of brown-tomentose rootlets, toward apex bearing appressed-imbricate, gray-brown, clathrate, ovate-oblong or broadly ovate scales, these 2-6 mm long, mostly acute to acuminate at apex. Fronds densely clustered; stipe nearly lacking or to 5 cm long, stout and subquadrangular, with green margins passing gradually upward into the long-decurrent blade. Blades simple, ligulate, narrowly oblong-linear, or lance-linear, chartaceous, 30-120 x 4-8 cm, the apex sharply acute or rarely obtuse, the base gradually attenuate, the margins entire, plane and narrowly cartilaginous; primary veins oblique, prominent on lower surface, connected by arching cross-veins forming areoles with usually 3 included free veinlets, the middle one usually prolonged and joined to the next higher cross-vein, thus forming 2 secondary areoles; the tissue light green. Sori 2-seriate between the primary veins, located on free areolar veinlets below the tips.
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Distribution
Occasional epiphyte in moist forests. Coral Bay (A2113), Susannaberg (A694). Also on St. Croix, St. Thomas, and Tortola; Florida, Bahamas, Greater Antilles, Cayman Islands, Lesser Antilles, Tobago, Trinidad, and continental tropical America from Mexico to Uruguay.
Tortola Virgin Islands South America| Saint Thomas Virgin Islands of the United States South America| Tortola Virgin Islands South America| Florida United States of America North America| Bahamas South America| Saint Croix Virgin Islands of the United States South America| Cayman Islands South America| West Indies| Trinidad and Tobago South America| México Mexico North America| Uruguay South America|