Asplenium lepidotum

Detailed description

Terrestrial (usually growing on rocks) fern. Rhizomes stout, erect, rarely short-creeping, bearing scales; scales ovate or narrowly ovate, 10–30 mm long, 2–5 mm wide, dark brown. Fronds 120–1100 mm long. Stipes 43–600 mm long, green or brown, densely to sparsely covered throughout in narrowly ovate or ovate scales with acute or acuminate or filiform apices. Rachises often green on both surfaces but occasionally at least partially brown (especially below), grooved, scaly; scales narrowly ovate, 100–470 μm wide at their mid-length, with acute or very short filiform apices. Fronds pinnate, narrowly ovate or ovate, narrowed to a long terminal segment that is usually undivided but rarely lobed proximally, 65–650 mm long, 22–260 mm wide, green on both surfaces, sometimes darker and glossy on upper surface, herbaceous, bearing abundant narrowly ovate or subulate scales with long filiform apices on adaxial surface (at least of young fronds) and on abaxial surface, lacking hairs. Primary pinnae in 0–16 pairs below the apical segment, usually not overlapping, often narrowly lanceolate but occasionally narrowly elliptic or narrowly ovate or rarely ovate, the longest at or below the middle, 26–205 mm long, 9–39 mm wide; pinna apices often acute, occasionally acuminate, or rarely obtuse, margins prominently to weakly serrate, bases stalked and often cuneate or occasionally acute or obtuse. Sori away from margins; indusia 5–20 mm long, usually straight, rarely curved; free margins of indusia entire.