Elaphoglossum bifurcatum (Jacq.) Mickel

  • Family

    Dryopteridaceae (Pteridophyta)

  • Scientific Name

    Elaphoglossum bifurcatum (Jacq.) Mickel

  • Primary Citation

    Brittonia 32: 116. 1980

  • Basionym

    Osmunda bifurcata Jacq.

  • Description

    by: A. Vasco, R.C. Moran, and G. Rouhan

    Type: St. Helena. locality and collector not designated (holotype: W)

    Description: Epiphytic, terrestrial, or saxicolous. Rhizome 1-2 mm wide, short-creeping, scaly, black, resinous; scales 2-4 mm long, lanceolate, castaneous, entire, the apex acute. Sterile leaves pinnate, 4-15 cm long, 1-2 mm apart; phyllopodia present, 0.15-0.2 cm long; petioles 2/3 the length of the sterile lamina, tan to brown; scales reduced to resinous dots or sometimes with a few scattered scales, 0.5-1 mm long, lanceolate, light brown; lamina 2-7 x 1-2.5 cm, lanceolate, papyraceous, the base ending well above the phylopodia; veins inconspicuous; hydathodes absent; lamina scales reduced to resinous dots, these often on both surfaces but more pronounced on the abaxial side. Fertile leaves similar to the sterile but smaller and with the divisions of the pinnae more shallow; petioles 1/2 the length of the fertile leaf, tan to brown; laminae 1 cm wide, lanceolate, glabrous.

    Distribution: Endemic to St. Helena Island, above 650 m (elevation according to Eastwood et al., 2004b)

    Comments: Elaphoglossum bifurcatum is endemic to St. Helena Island in the South Atlantic Ocean. Its pinnate laminae are unique within the ciliatum-group. The other two species endemic to St. Helena have entire margins. Elaphoglossum dimorphum has a toothed margin, but it is never pinnate; E. nervosum has simple, entire leaves.

    Status: This species has been classified as vulnerable by the IUCN (Eastwood, 2004)

  • Sorry, no descriptions available for this record.