Christella conspersa (Schrad.) Á.Löve & D.Löve

Castro-Aguiar, Pedro Henrique, Fernandes, Rozijane Santos & Zappi, Daniela Cristina, 2025, Ferns of the Parque Nacional das Nascentes do Rio Parnaíba Brazilian Cerrado, Rodriguesia (e 00612024) 76, pp. 1-24 : 18-19

15.1. Christella conspersa (Schrad.) Á.Löve & D.Löve , Taxon 26: 326 (1977).

Plants terrestrial. Stem erect to short-creeping, with lanceolate scales com, 4–8.5 mm long, dark brown, pilose. Fronds 114–147.5 cm long, monomorphic, pinnate-pinnatifid; petiole 39.3–60 cm long, paleaceous to pale brown, sulcate adaxially, with hairs on both sides; rachis sulcate adaxially, with acicular hairs on both sides; laminae 54–100.5 × 21–33 cm long, lanceolate, base with com 1–2(–3) pairs of reduced pinnae; pinnae median 10.5–16.5 × 1.5–1.8 cm, 12–37 pairs, linear-lanceolate, pinnatisect, chartaceous, both sides with acicular and stalked glandular hairs on the costae, veins, and laminar tissue between the veins, margins entire, base truncate, apex acute to rounded; basal veins of adjacent segments always joining at the sinus. Sori rounded, median, indusia rounded, with acicular and glandular hairs.

Examined material: Alto ParnaÍba , PNNRP, próxima à casa de serraria na Fazenda do Merval , 09°49’22’’S, 46°16’14’’W, 373 m, 19.VII.2023, P. H. Castro-Aguiar et al. 313 ( CCAA); P. H. Castro-Aguiar et al. 314 ( CCAA, UB).

Christella conspersa has Neotropical distribution, occurring from Panamá to South America, and in the Caribbean region ( Ponce 2007; Smith & Kessler 2017c). In Brazil, it occurs in the Cerrado and the Atlantic Rainforest, and in areas of dense ombrophilous forest in the Amazon biome ( Salino et al. 2023). In the study area, it was found in shaded areas, inside the forest and on river banks along the rapids and waterfalls, and in wet soils exposed to light, in the vereda.

This species is characterized by the 1-pinnate-pinnatifid fronds, with acicular and glandular hairs and on both surfaces, basal veins of adjacent segments united at the sinus, indusia with both acicular and glandular hairs.

Christella conspersa can be confused with C. hispidula , which also occurs in the study area. However, they can be differentiated primarily by the indusia, which in C. conspersa have acicular and glandular hairs, whilst in C. hispidula the indusia have only acicular hairs. Additionally, the basal veins of the adjacent segments in C. conspersa are united always at the sinus, whilst in C. hispidula they are united, with rare exceptions, significantly below the sinus.