Parablechnum procerum

Features

Rhizome short-creeping; scales to 16 × 2 mm wide, lanceolate, acute or acuminate, brown some bicolorous, entire. Fronds dimorphic, erect, 0.08—1.0 m long, 45-220 mm wide, widest mid frond; fertile fronds longer and more erect than sterile fronds. Stipes 20-600 mm (stipes up to 180 mm for plants growing in tussock communities, 150-250 for plants growing in open, shaded forest, and up to 0.6 m where plants are competing with a dense ground layer in the forest); stipes of sterile fronds shorter than stipes of fertile fronds, 1-4 mm diameter, stramineous to dark brown, becoming darker reddish brown towards the base; stipes scaly when young, often glabrous at maturity; scales 2-10 mm long, 0.5-1.5 mm wide, mostly lanceolate, brown, reddish brown, or somewhat bicolorous with paler margins, entire. Lamina ovate or lanceolate, dark olive green at maturity, 1-pinnate, 2—15 pairs of pinnae (plants suboptimal sites occasionally have as few as 1 terminal and 2 lateral, membranous pinnae), fertile laminae with more pinnae than sterile laminae. Rachis and costae dark, reddish, or pale brown (usually pale for specimens from open tussock communities), often blotchy; with sparse to numerous scales (fertile lamina with a more scaly rachis) and some small irregular hairs; scales variable in size, shape, and colour, 3.0-10.0 × 0.5-1.0 mm, linear to lanceolate, attenuate, more or less entire; conspicuous abaxial costal scales 2.0-3.5 mm long, c. 1 mm wide, of small narrow linear cells, lanceolate, attenuate, shiny dark reddish brown, concolorous or sometimes slightly bicolorous with paler margins (but lacking a “black-spot”), more or less entire. Sterile pinnae 25-150 × 10-35 mm, oblong-lanceolate, apices obtuse to acute, rounded or truncate at rachis; shortly petiolate at base of lamina, basiscopically adnate towards apex; coriaceous in robust specimens to almost membranous in small plants; margins toothed and sometimes crenate; veins simple or once-furcate; small toothed scales often extending on to lower surface of pinnae; basal pinnae as long or slightly 10-35 mm, oblong-lanceolate, apices obtuse to acute, rounded or truncate at rachis; shortly petiolate at base of lamina, basiscopically adnate towards apex; coriaceous in robust specimens to almost membranous in small plants; margins toothed and sometimes crenate; veins simple or once-furcate; small toothed scales often extending on to lower surface of pinnae; basal pinnae as long or slightly shorter than middle pinnae, rarely less than half their length, more obtuse, often reflexed, auricles and auriculate pinnae bases absent; terminal pinna usually longer and acutely pointed. Fertile pinnae 20.0- 75.0 × 2.0-4.5 mm, linear, shortly petiolate at base of lamina, becoming basiscopically adnate towards apex; basal pinnae usually not reduced; sori covering under surface except at apices; indusium brown, laciniate or entire; spores 56-70 × 39-52 µm.