Adiantum macrophyllum Sw.

  • Authority

    Mickel, John T. & Smith, Alan R. 2004. The pteridophytes of Mexico. Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 88: 1-1054.

  • Family

    Pteridaceae

  • Scientific Name

    Adiantum macrophyllum Sw.

  • Description

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    Species Description - Rhizomes short-creeping, 4–7 mm diam.; rhizome scales concolorous, linear-lanceolate, brown with dark brown, thickened cell walls, 2–3 x 0.8–1 mm, margins ciliate-denticulate; fronds clumped, mostly 30–65 cm long, arching; stipes atropurpureous to black, lustrous, mostly 20–45 cm x 2–4 mm, ca. 1/2–2/3 the frond length, glabrous; blades oblong; 1-pinnate, 15–25 x 10–16 cm; rachises atropurpureous to black, glabrous except at bases; pinnae 3–8 pairs, each blade with a conform terminal pinna, fertile pinnae entire, sterile pinnae incised or serrulate, with a costa running down middle of each pinna, ovate-deltate, broadly cuneate proximally, acuminate distally, largest pinnae at blade bases, 5–9 x 2.5–5 cm, subsessile or with stalks 1–2 mm long, the dark color of axis entering the pinna bases, non-articulate; veins free, forking, ending in teeth; indument absent on both surfaces, blades often glaucous abaxially; idioblasts present on both blade surfaces; sori continuous, one on each side of pinnae, interrupted only by the sterile pinna tips; indusia 35–60 mm long on fully fertile pinnae, glabrous; 2n=60 (Jam).

  • Discussion

    Type. Jamaica. Swartz s.n. (S).

    Among the 1-pinnate, idioblastic taxa, A. macrophyllum is easily distinguished from A. obliquum and A. petiolatum by the broader, opposite pinnae, a single sorus on each side of the pinnae, the glabrous stipes, rachises, and pinna surfaces, and the roughly equilateral pinnae. The young fronds are often very reddish or pinkish, a characteristic of many species in the genus, but most pronounced in A. macrophyllum.

  • Distribution

    Terrestrial in wet lowland forests; pine-oak- Liquidambar forests, seasonal evergreen forests, especially near streams; 100–1000(–1400) m. Mexico; Guat, Bel, Hond, Salv, Nic, CR, Pan; Gr & L Ant; Col, Ven, Trin, Guy, Sur, Fr Gui, Ec, Peru, Braz, Bol.

    Mexico North America| Bolivia South America| Brazil South America| Peru South America| Amazonas Ecuador South America| French Guiana South America| Suriname South America| Guyana South America| Trinidad and Tobago South America| Venezuela South America| Amazonas Colombia South America| West Indies| Panama Central America| Puntarenas Costa Rica Central America| Nicaragua Central America| El Salvador Central America| Honduras Central America| Belize Central America| Guatemala Central America|