Elaphoglossum auricomum (Kunze) T.Moore

  • Authority

    Mickel, John T. & Beitel, Joseph M. 1988. Pteridophyte Flora of Oaxaca, Mexico. Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 46: 1-580.

  • Family

    Dryopteridaceae

  • Scientific Name

    Elaphoglossum auricomum (Kunze) T.Moore

  • Description

    Deprecated: mb_convert_encoding(): Handling HTML entities via mbstring is deprecated; use htmlspecialchars, htmlentities, or mb_encode_numericentity/mb_decode_numericentity instead in /home/emu/nybgweb/www-dev/htdocs/science-dev/wp-content/themes/nybgscience/lib/VHMonographsDetails.php on line 179

    Species Description - Rhizome short-creeping, to 5 mm diam.; rhizome scales linear-lanceolate, dark orange-brown, to 7 mm long, margin with hairlike teeth; phyllopodia inconspicuous or lacking; fronds clumped, 18-50 cm long, 1.6-3.2 cm wide; stipe 1/8-1/4 the frond length, densely clothed with spreading, orange scales 4 mm long; blade narrowly elliptic, papyraceous, apex acuminate, base narrowly cuneate; veins indistinct, free, simple or once-forked, 1-2 mm apart, at 60-70° angle; hydathodes lacking; blade scales orange, dense but not overlapping, linear-lanceolate, 1-4 mm long with long, hairlike teeth, the teeth at least half as long as the scale, some scales reduced to nearly stellate hairs; fertile fronds with longer stipes, ca. 1/3 the length, with a few stellate hairs on the abaxial midvein; spores with smooth crests and small protuberances on spore surface between crests.

  • Discussion

    Acrostichum auricomum Kunze, Linnaea 9: 28. 1834. Type. Peru. Pampayaco, Jul 1829, Poeppig s.n. (frag. P!). This species is close to E. vestitum in the skeletonized blade scales and the general laxness of the fronds, but differs in several features. Elaphoglossum auricomum lacks the caudate blade tip, the rhizome scales are not as dark, and the stipe is densely covered with orange spreading scales. It also resembles E. paleaceum, but the rhizome scales are dark orange or maroon, not black as usually found in E. paleaceum, and the blade scales are more sparse and more highly dissected than in that species. Some specimens have very short stipes but apparently this character is quite variable in E. auricomum.

  • Distribution

    Epiphytic in montane rain forest; Ixtlán; 450-600 m (to 1250 m in Chiapas and 1650 m in Guat). Mexico (Ver, Oax, Chis); Guat, Hond, CR; Hisp; Col to Bol.

    Mexico North America| Bolivia South America| Colombia South America| West Indies| Costa Rica South America| Honduras Central America| Guatemala Central America|