Phlebodium areolatum (Humb. & Bonpl. ex Willd.) J.Sm.

  • Authority

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

  • Family

    Polypodiaceae

  • Scientific Name

    Phlebodium areolatum (Humb. & Bonpl. ex Willd.) J.Sm.

  • Description

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    Species Description - Rhizome creeping, 4-10 mm diam., pruinose; rhizome scales 6-10 mm long, reddish-brown, lanceolate with enlarged round peltate base, margin denticulate throughout, especially on long tip, darker at point of attachment; fronds (20-)28-90 cm long; stipe 1/3-½ the frond length, stramineous to brown, glabrous; blade deeply pin-natifid, broadly oblong to ovate-deltate, base not much narrowed, 20-35 cm wide; pinnae 4-13 pairs, 10-20 mm wide, linear-oblong to linear deltate, obtuse to acuminate, glabrous, often glaucous, margin entire, occasionally with low teeth; veins netted, with double included veinlets or infrequently single; sori round, medial or submedial (served by two excurrent veins), one row on each side of the midvein.

  • Discussion

    Polypodium areolatum Humboldt & Bonpland ex Willdenow, Sp. pl. 5: 172. 1810. Goniophlebium areolatum (Humboldt & Bonpland ex Willdenow) Presl, Tent, pterid. 186. 1836. Polypodium aureum Linnaeus var. areolatum (Humboldt & Bonpland ex Willdenow) Baker in Hooker & Baker, Syn. fil. 347. 1867. Type: Venezuela, Cumaná, Humboldt & Bonpland s.n. (B-Willd. 19656!). The Phlebodium areolatum plants from Oaxaca and all of Central America appear to have a single row of sori on each side of the costa. Proctor (1985) reported that this one-rowed taxon is the common one in the Greater Antilles, whereas Polypodium aureum Linnaeus (Sp. pl. 2: 1087. 1753. Type. America. LINN 1251.10), with two rows of sori on each side of the costa is common in Florida, Bahamas, Puerto Rico, the Lesser Antilles and South America. The distinctiveness of Phlebodium areolatum is confirmed by the findings of G. R. Proctor and A. M. Evans (pers. comm.) that in Puerto Rico where P. aureum, P. areolatum and P. decu-manum exist, both the one-rowed P. areolatum and the multirowed P. decumanum appear to be diploids, the two-rowed P. aureum is their fertile, allotetraploid hybrid, and at least one sterile, triploid backcross hybrid exists. Among the synonyms of Phlebodium aureum, Polypodium leucatomas Poiret in Lamarck (Encycl. 5: 516. 1804. Type. French Guiana. LeBlond s.n. (P-Lam., microfiche NY!)) and Polypodium sporadocarpum Willdenow (Sp. pl. 5: 171. 1810. Type. Specimen B-Willd.) both have more than one row of sori and therefore do not represent P. areolatum. Polypodium pseudoaureum Cavanilles (Descr. 247. 1802) may possibly be an earlier name for this taxon, but since there was no locality given for Née’s specimen (collected on a trip around the world), the pinnae are shorter than those of P. areolatum, and the venation was not described, use of this name should wait until the type specimen is seen. Christensen saw the type and placed Polypodium areolatum under it (Dansk Bot. Ark. 9(3): 12. 1931).

  • Distribution

    Epiphytic, epipetric or terrestrial; Centro, Cuicatlán, Etla, Ixtlán, Juquila, Mixe, Sola de Vega, Tehuantepec, Teotitlán, Tuxtepec, Villa Alta; 600-1850 m. Mexico (Chih, Nay, Sin, Jal, Mich, Gro, Mor, Mex, DF, SLP, Hgo, Ver, Pue, Oax, Chis); US (Fla); Guat to Pan; WI, Trin; Col to Sur & Bol, Braz & n Arg.

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