Pteris epaleata

Detailed description

Rhizomes erect, scaly. Rhizome scales narrowly ovate, 7–8 mm long, c. 2 mm wide, pale brown, concolorous, lacking marginal projections. Fronds 0.77–1.74(–2.50) m long. Stipes 0.40–1.03–(1.40) m long, 6–11 mm diameter near the base, purplish-brown, red-brown or chestnut-brown proximally, yellow-brown or chestnut-brown distally, occasionally with scattered scales proximally. Rachises yellow-brown or chestnut-brown, adaxially sulcate, glabrous. Laminae 3–4-pinnate-pinnatifid at base, broadly ovate, 0.33–0.75–(1.10) × 0.30–1.00 m wide, dark green and dull adaxially, paler abaxially, herbaceous, bearing multicellular hairs and occasionally hair-like linear scales 2–3–(4) cells broad on the costae; veins anastomosing. Primary pinnae in 5–11 pairs below pinnatifid apex, overlapping; the longest at or near the base, 120–580 × 120–280 mm wide, elliptic or narrowly to broadly ovate, straight; pinna apices acute to acuminate, bases long-stalked. Longest secondary pinnae 100–270 × 50–150 mm wide, usually narrowly ovate, sometimes ovate, subopposite at base becoming alternate toward apex of primary pinnae, longest at base to midway along primary pinnae and then becoming gradually smaller toward apex, apices acute to acuminate, bases adnate or stalked. Longest tertiary segments 15–90 × 5–30 mm wide, elliptic, ovate or oblong; apices acute to obtuse, margins crenate, serrate or divided to more than halfway, bases adnate or shortly stalked. Quaternary segments to 22 mm long, 2–9 mm wide, oblong to triangular, apices acute to obtuse, margins crenate, serrate or divided to more than halfway, bases adnate, occasionally with further divisions to 4 mm long, 1–3 mm wide; ultimate segments 1.0–5.5 mm wide. Sori elongated along margins of the ultimate segments, with paraphyses among sporangia; indusia 0.35–0.55 mm wide. Spores 25–35 μm in polar diameter, 35.0–47.5 μm in equatorial diameter.