106 



Polypodiaceae; Vittariaceae 



on the rachis, with 1-3 teeth or short lobules on the anterior and 

 sometimes also on the posterior margin; costa and veins more 

 or less distinct; sori round, 2-5 on a pinna, solitary on each 



tooth or lobe. Mossy rocks in mountains; Honshu (Mu- 



sashi and Kii to Yamato Prov.), Kyushu; very rare. 



Fam. 21. VITTARIACEAE Shishi-ran Ka Vittaria Family 



Mostly epiphytic ferns; rhizomes creeping to suberect, protostelic or siphonostelic; scales clathrate; fronds simple, entire or 

 rarely cleft at the tip, glabrous, with long spicular cells in the epidermis; veins reticulate, free veinlets absent; sori mostly elongate 

 along the veins; indusia absent; paraphyses usually present. Eight genera with about 140 species, chiefly tropical. 



lA. Costa absent or partial; sori few to several, elongate along the veins and sometimes similarly reticulate 1. Antrophyum 



IB. Costa extending to apex of frond; sori linear, solitary, uninterrupted, sometimes marginal or submarginal 2. Vittaria 



1. ANTROPHYUM Kaulf. Takimi-shida Zoku 



Mosdy epiphytic; rhizomes creeping, short, with narrow clathrate scales and hairy roots; fronds densely tufted, sessile or 

 stipitate, not jointed with the rhizome; blades simple, entire, glabrous, firm; costa absent or partial, the veins repeatedly 

 dichotomous and typically anastomosing to form large elongate areolae; sori elongate along the veins, superficial, or more often 

 immersed; paraphyses present. Nearly 40 species in the tropics from Polynesia to Africa. 



entire, and often slightly recurved on margin, narrowed to the 

 stipe at base; costa absent, the veins immersed, anastomosing, 

 the areolae linear-lanceolate to lanceolate; sori linear, im- 

 pressed, sunken in a groove along the veins, often partially 

 anastomosing; paraphyses simple or rarely branched, capitate. 



Moist rocks in mountains; Honshu (Sagami and Echizen 



Prov. and westw.), Shikoku, Kyushu; rare. Formosa, 



China, Indochina, and n. India. 



1. Antrophyum obovatum Bak. A. japonicum Makino 



Takimi-shida. Evergreen, glabrous; rhizomes short, 



densely scaly, the scales membranous, dark brown, linear, 4-5 

 mm. long, with 4-6 rows of linear cells, sparsely spinulose- 

 toothed; fronds green, smooth except near base of the stipe; 

 stipes more or less tufted, 3-12 cm. long, 2.5-3 mm. wide, 

 flattened, pale green, smooth; blades rhombic-obovate, 5-12 

 cm. long, 1.5-3 (-6) cm. wide, abruptly acuminate or caudately 

 acuminate, sometimes shallowly 2-or 3-lobed toward the tip or 



2. VITTAEIA J. E. Smith Shishi-ran Zoku 



Epiphytic, with short-creeping rhizomes; scales dark, clathrate; fronds crowded, narrowly linear, entire, stipitate or sessile, 

 firm, glabrous, costate, the veins forming a single row of areolae between the costa and the submarginal fertile vein; sori con- 

 tinuous at maturity along the fertile vein, immersed or almost superficial; paraphyses present. ^About 80 species in the 



Tropics. 



lA. Sori in a marginal groove; costa not raised on underside \.V. zosterifolia 



IB. Sori dorsal, naked or partially enclosed by the recurved margin of the blade; costa more or less raised on underside. 

 2A. Sori sunken in a groove. 



3A. Sori midviray between the costa and margin; blades deeply 2-grooved on upper side 2.V. fudzinoi 



3B. Sori submarginal; blades 1-grooved or nearly flat on upper side 3. V. fiexuosa 



2B. Sori superficial, intramarginal, not sunken in a groove or protected by the margin of the blade 4. F. forrestiana 



1. Vittaria zosterifolia Willd. V. elongata var. zosteri- approximate, 20-40 cm. long including the stipe, 3-4(-5) mm. 



folia (Willd.) Tard.-Bl. & C. Chr.; V. formosana Nakai wide, acute to subobtuse, gradually attenuate toward the base; 



Amamo-shishi-ran, Shima-shishi-ran. Evergreen, glabrous; costa stout, raised beneath, with a deep groove on each side 



rhizomes creeping, 3-4 mm. across, densely scaly, the scales above; sori on a groove midway between the costa and margin. 



black-brown, ascending, linear-lanceolate, 5-7 mm. long, about Honshu (Izu and Kii Prov. westw.), Shikoku, Kyushu; 



0.5 mm. wide, sparsely toothed, clathrate, the filiform tip rare. China. 



about 1/3-1/2 as long as the body; fronds thinly coriaceous, 3. Vittaria flexuosa Fee. V. japonica Miq.; V. lanceola 



pendulous, linear, flat, 50-80 cm. long, 6-12 mm. wide, obtuse, Christ; V. flexuosa var. japonica C. Chr. Shishi-ran. 



gradually narrowed at base, glabrous except for a few scales at Evergreen, glabrous; rhizomes short-creeping, densely scaly; 



base of stipe; costa not distinct; sori continuous in marginal scales dark-brown, membranous, broadly linear, 2.5-4 mm. 



grooves. Tree trunks; Shikoku, Kyushu (Yakushima and long, sparsely toothed, filiform above; fronds approximate, 



Tanegashima) ; rare. Ryukyus, Formosa, Indochina, Poly- deep green, lustrous, the blades linear, 25-50 cm. long, 5-8 



nesia, Malaysia, and Mascarene Isls. mm. wide, gradually narrowed at tip, attenuate toward base to 



2, Vittaria fudzinoi Makino. V. japonica var. sessilis the short stipe, grooved above, the costa raised beneath; sori 

 Eaton ex Yoshinaga; V. sessilis (Eaton ex Yoshinaga) submarginal, on a groove partially covered by the recurved 



Makino Nakami-shishi-ran. Rhizomes short-creeping, margin of blade. Shaded rocky cliffs and tree trunks; 



densely scaly, the scales membranous, brown, slightly lustrous, Honshu (Kanto Distr. and westw.), Shikoku, Kyushu; rather 



linear-lanceolate, 4-5 mm. long, filiform at the tip, sparsely common westw. Ryukyus, Formosa, China, Indochina, and 



toothed, clathrate; fronds coriaceous, fleshy, lustrous, closely n. India. 



