Family

Pteridaceae, subfamily Vittarioideae

Nomenclature

Haplopteris elongata (Sw.) E.H.Crane, Syst. Bot. 22: 514. 1998 [‘1997’]. – Vittaria elongata Sw., Syn. Fil.: 109, 302. 1806; Bedd., Handb. Ferns Brit. India: 404, f. 238. 1883; Christ, Bot. Tidsskr. 24: 104. 1901; Hosseus, Beih. Bot. Centr. 28(2): 366. 1911; C.Chr., Bot. Tidsskr. 32: 348. 1916; E.Smith, J. Siam Soc. Nat. Hist. Suppl. 8: 7. 1929; Ching, Sinensia 1: 179. 1931; Tardieu & C.Chr., Fl. Indo-Chine 7(2): 197. 1940; Holttum, Rev. Fl. Malaya ed. 1, 2: 614, f. 360. 1955 [‘1954’]; Holttum, Dansk Bot. Ark. 20: 34. 1961, Seidenf., Nat. Hist. Bull. Siam Soc. 19: 87. 1958; Tagawa & K.Iwats., SouthE. Asian Stud. 5: 111. 1967; Tagawa & K.Iwats., Acta Phytotax. Geobot. 23: 56. 1968; Tagawa & K.Iwats., Fl. Thailand 3: 223. 1985; Boonkerd & Pollawatn, Pterid. Thailand: 135. 2000.

Vittaria zosterifolia Willd., Sp. Pl., ed. 4 [Willdenow] 5: 406. 1810. – Vittaria elongata var. zosterifolia (Willd.) Tardieu & C.Chr., Notul. Syst. 7: 11. 1938.

Vittaria merrillii Christ, Philipp. J. Sci., C 2: 174. 1907. – Vittaria elongata var. merrillii (Christ) Tardieu & C.Chr., Notul. Syst. 7: 11. 1938.

Description

Rhizome short creeping, bearing closely spaced fronds or up to 1 cm apart, 3–5 mm diam., very densely scaly throughout; scales linear, gradually narrowing from cordate base towards long-tailed apex, up to 1.2 cm or more long, 1 mm broad, greyish-brown to dark, distinctly clathrate, minutely toothed at margin. Stipes usually short, indistinct from the lower portion of frond, green to darker. Laminae linear, variable in size, 0.5–2.3 cm broad, up to 60 cm or more long, gradually narrowing towards both ends, coriaceous to leathery; costa usually distinct above on the lower portion; veins more or less visible, anastomosing to form a row of elongate oblique areoles at each side of midrib. Sori immersed in marginal two-lipped groove, usually along the whole margin of frond .

Distribution in Thailand

NORTHERN: Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Tak, Phitsanulok; NORTH-EASTERN: Loei, Nong Khai; EASTERN: Nakhon Ratchasima; SOUTH-WESTERN: Kanchanaburi; CENTRAL: Nakhon Nayok; SOUTH-EASTERN: Trat; PENINSULAR: Surat Thani, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Trang, Satun, Yala, Narathiwat.

Distribution in Laos

Champasak, Khammouane, Vientiane.

Distribution in Cambodia

Siem Reap.

Wider Distribution

Tropics of the Old World generally, north to Sikkim, Hainan and southern edge of Japan.

Ecology

Pendulous on mossy tree trunks in light shade to dense forests at low to medium altitudes.

Proposed IUCN Conservation Assessment

Least Concern (LC). This species is widespread and not under any known threat.

Voucher specimens - Thailand

Middleton et al. 5114 & 5116, Loei, Phu Suan Sai National Park (E).

Voucher specimens - Laos

Poilane 15860, Champasak, Boloven Plateau (P); Spire 84, Khammouane, Phonthane (P); Maxwell 99-191, Vientiane (CMU).

Voucher specimens - Cambodia

Godefroy-Lebeuf 618, Siem Reap, Angkor (P).