Family

Dennstaedtiaceae

Nomenclature

Microlepia platyphylla (D.Don) J.Sm., Lond. J. Bot. 1: 472. 1842; Bedd., Handb. Ferns Brit. India: 66, f. 33. 1883; Tardieu & C.Chr., Fl. Indo-Chine 7(2): 99. 1939; Ching, Fl. Reipubl. Popularis Sin. 2: 226. 1959; Tagawa & K.Iwats., SouthE. Asian Stud. 3(3): 81. 1965; Tagawa & K.Iwats., SouthE. Asian Stud. 5: 73. 1967; Tagawa & K.Iwats., Fl. Thailand 3: 121, f. 8.5. 1979; Boonkerd & Pollawatn, Pterid. Thailand: 88. 2000. – Davallia platyphylla D.Don, Prodr. Fl. Nepal.: 10. 1825.

Description

Rhizome, creeping, very thick, the apex densely covered with hairs. Stipes thick, stramineous, glabrous throughout, more than 1 m long; lamina very large, bipinnate, subtriangular in outline, 80–130 cm long; rachis like the upper part of stipes, glabrous; lateral pinnae remote from each other, the upper ones gradually reducing in size, the larger ones distinctly stalked, oblong-subtriangular, caudate-acuminate at apex, up to 60 cm long, 25 cm wide; costae grooved on the upper surface, hairy in grooves; larger pinnules linear-subtriangular, gradually narrowing towards long-caudate apex, the base unequally cuneate and with the stalks more than 1.5 cm in length, more than 15 cm long, 4 cm wide; costules distinct and naked on the underside, indistinct but densely hairy on the upperside; ultimate lobe oblong-subtriangular, acute or moderately so at apex, undulate at margin; veins pinnate, veinlets forked, distinct on lower surface, both surfaces of segments glabrous, green in colour, chartaceous. Sori terminal on veinlets, each in a marginal dentation, a little inside the margin; indusia shallowly cup-shaped, glabrous .

Distribution in Thailand

NORTHERN: Chiang Mai, Lamphun.

Distribution in Laos

Hua Phan, Xieng Khouang.

Wider Distribution

Sri Lanka, Himalaya to SW China, Taiwan, Indochina and Philippines.

Ecology

Usually on wet ground along small streams in light shade in tropical evergreen forest, rather rare, 900–1600 m alt.

Proposed IUCN Conservation Assessment

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

Notes

In older plants the veins are glabrous, but in very young stage the veins are hairy on both surfaces with setose pale long hairs, and sparsely pubescent on lower surface. This is observed in cultivation in Kyoto on plants taken from Doi Suthep and make us doubtful about separating M. kurzii and M. platyphylla.

Voucher specimens - Thailand