Elaphoglossum carrascoense M.Kessler & Mickel

  • Authority

    Taylor, W. Carl. 1976. Vascular flora of Jonca Creek, Ste Genevieve County, Missouri. Castanea. 41: 93-118.

  • Family

    Dryopteridaceae

  • Scientific Name

    Elaphoglossum carrascoense M.Kessler & Mickel

  • Type

    TYPE: BOLIVIA. Cochabamba: Prov. Carrasco, Km 61 antigua carretera Cochabamba-Villa Tunari, 17º15'S, 65º43'W, 3950 m, 2 Jul 1996, Kessler et al. 6868 (HOLOTYPE: NY; ISOTYPES: LPB, UC).

  • Description

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    Latin Diagnosis - Ab E. minuto (Fée) T. Moore foliis plusminusve ellipticis (non lineari-lanceolatis) brevioribus atque latioribus (3-8.5 cm x 4-10 mm, non 3.5-25 cm x 2.5-8 mm) et squamis petiolaribus paucioribus magis lanceolatis differt.

    Species Description - Plants saxicolous; rhizomes creeping, frequently branching and forming dense mats, 1.5-2.5 mm in diameter, densely scaly, the scales lanceolate with long-acuminate apices, entire, orange with varying degrees of dark, shiny, sclerotic streaking in the centers, 4-5 x 1.2-1.6 mm; phyllopodia 4-9 mm; leaves 3- 8 mm apart, 3-8.5 cm x 4-10 mm; petioles 1/3-1/2 the sterile leaf length, 0.3-0.9 mm thick, orange-brown to red-brown, glabrous or with a few scales at the bases, the scales lanceolate, 1-2 x 0.7-1 mm, entire or with sparse, irregular basal processes, orange; blades elliptic to lanceolate, coriaceous, apically acute, basally narrowly cuneate, the margins cartilaginous; veins obscure, free, ca. 1 mm apart, set at 50-60º to costae, hydathodes lacking; blades on both sides with minute, brown, stellate trichomidia, sometimes with a few scales abaxially on the proximal costae, the scales resembling those of the petioles; stomata conspicuously orange to blackish; fertile leaves 1-2 times as long and wide as the sterile ones, similar in shape and texture; intersporangial scales lacking.

  • Discussion

    (Fig. 2 E-G)

    Elaphoglossum carrascoense is a small species related to E. minutum (Fée) T. Moore, but differs in its more or less elliptic (vs. linear-lanceolate), shorter and broader (3-8.5 cm x 4-10 mm vs. 3.5-25 cm x 2.5-8 mm) leaves. It also has fewer, more lanceolate petiole scales than E. minutum. Both E. minutum and the closely related E. acutifolium Rosenst. have been found close to the type locality of E. carrascoense, but no intermediate specimens are known. Elaphoglossum carrascoense grows in cracks in rock faces at 3750-3950 m, together with such species as Asplenium castaneum Schltd. & Cham., Melpomene moniliformis (Lag. ex Sw.) A.R. Sm. & R.C. Moran, Polystichum nudicaule Rosenst., and Woodsia montevidensis (Spreng.) Hieron. We name this species after the type locality in Carrasco National Park, one of the most species-rich areas for ferns in Bolivia.