Asplenium auritum var. bipinnatifidum Kunze

  • Authority

    Morton, Conrad V. & Lellinger, David B. 1966. The Polypodiaceae subfamily Asplenioideae in Venezuela. Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 15: 1-49.

  • Family

    Aspleniaceae

  • Scientific Name

    Asplenium auritum var. bipinnatifidum Kunze

  • Description

    Species Description - Pinnae deeply pinnatifid, especially on the upper side, the basal side excavate, the superior basal pinnule nearly free from the others but rather broadly adnate at base or at least not stalked, subentire or toothed but not pinnatifid or parted, obtusish or acutish at apex but not acuminate.

    Distribution and Ecology - General distribution. Uncertain, but probably extensive. Certainly in Mexico, Venezuela (Aragua), and Colombia

  • Discussion

    Asplenium dispersum Kunze, Linnaea 23: 233, 304. 1850. Type: Cultivated in the botanical garden, Berlin, in 1833 under the name A. bipartitum Bory (holotype B, photograph 9617). Another specimen, Hort. Berol., 1832 (B, photograph 9619) is doubtless an isotype.

    Asplenium auritum var. bipinnatisectum Mett. Abhandl. Senckenb. Naturf. Gesell. 3: 147. 1858. Syntypes: Cited are A. schottii Presl, A. prolixum Schrader, A. recognitum Kunze, and A. pyramidatum Liebm. as synonyms, and Mexico, Schiede & Deppe 774; Mexico, Sartorius; Guadeloupe, Bory; Porto Rico, Schwanecke; Caracas, Funck & Schlim 250; Brazil, Sellow, Regnell, Beyrich. Thus the variety was based on a number of specimens (doubtless rather dissimilar), none of which are types of the cited specific synonyms, which were probably not seen by Mettenius. It can thus be typified only arbitrarily. We here designate the specimen Mexico, Schiede & Deppe 774 (B, photograph 9597) as lectotype.

    Asplenium auritum var. dispersum (Kunze) Hieron. Bot. Jahrb. Engler 34: 567. 1904.

    Type. Mexico, Leibold 14. The holotype was probably destroyed in Leipzig. There is apparently no isotype in Berlin, but one may exist in some of the other large European herbaria. The original description is merely “pinnis profunde pinatifidis,” which is presumably enough to validate the publication of the name but not really enough to fully identify the entity involved. However, the probability is that Leibold 14 is similar to Schiede & Deppe 773, cited above, which represents a common form in the region in Mexico where Leibold collected.