Hypolepis amaurorachis

Detailed description

Rhizome long-creeping, 20–25 mm diam., covered in red-brown hairs. Stipes 70–230–(450) mm long, 1.0–3.5 mm diameter, dark red-brown, bearing abundant colourless or pale-brown glandular hairs up to 2 mm long. Laminae narrowly ovate to ovate, 150–550 × 100–350 mm, bipinnate at apex, tripinnate at base. Rachis dark red-brown at base becoming paler above and often green at apex, densely covered in colourless or pale-brown glandular hairs up to 1.5 mm long. Primary pinnae in 15–30 pairs + pinnatifid apex, opposite or alternate, lower arising at (20)–30–70°, upper ones at 70–90°, longest ones below the middle 50–200 × 20–90 mm; lowest pairs 30–100 mm apart, middle ones 15–50 mm apart; upper ones parallel-sided or narrowly ovate, lower ones ovate or narrowly ovate. Secondary pinnae ovate to ± parallel-sided, longest 5–45 × 10–20 mm, those on the lower pinnae decreasing markedly in length along the pinnae. Tertiary pinnae up to 6 × 10 mm, deeply incised reaching margin at a tooth apex. Hairs: colourless glandular hairs (0.3–0.7 mm on laminae, up to 1 mm on midribs) interspersed with a few bristly colourless hairs densely covering both surfaces of lamina, lamina margins, and pinna midribs and costae. Sori in 1–3 pairs on ultimate pinnules, originating away from margin, slightly protected by reflexed margins of pinnules. Spores pale brown, echinate.