Elaphoglossum corderoanum (Sodiro) Christ

Vasco, A., 2011, Taxonomic revision of Elaphoglossum subsection Muscosa (Dryopteridaceae), Blumea 56 (2), pp. 165-202 : 173-175

3. Elaphoglossum corderoanum (Sodiro) Christ — Fig. 1c , 4 ; Map 4

Elaphoglossum corderoanum (Sodiro) Christ (1899) 81. — Acrostichum corderoanum Sodiro (1893) 470. — Type: Sodiro 202 (lecto P (barcode P00577719 ), designated here; iso QPLS n.v.), Ecuador, Loja, El Toldo (in the protologue: Crece en las pendientes occidentales del Pichincha, Corazón y “ el Altar ” en la provincia de Ríobamba,2000 y 3000 m), [4°22'S, 79°31'W], 1891.

Plants epiphytic. Rhizome 3 – 6 mm wide, compact, erect; rhizome scales 6 – 9(–14) mm long, linear-lanceolate, orange to dark brown, entire to denticulate, base cordate, apex acuminate. Sterile leaves 15– 41 cm long, approximate; phyllopodia present, sometimes obscured by the petiole-base scales; petiole (5–) 10– 22 cm long, 1/3 –1/2 the length of the sterile leaves; larger petiole scales 3– 6 mm long, dense, spreading, oblanceolate to ovate, light brown to orange, erose to laciniate,

i

b

base cordate, apex acute; smaller petiole scales 0.5 –1.5 mm long, dense, appressed, oftentimes hidden by the larger ones, oblanceolate to round, light brown to slightly mottled, ciliate, base cordate, short-stalked, apex acute; lamina 10 –22 by (1.8–) 2.8–5 cm, oblong to oblanceolate, coriaceous, glabrescent with age, base broadly cuneate to obtuse, apex obtuse to acute; veins free, forked, 1–2 mm apart, at an angle of 70–75° with respect to the costa; adaxial laminar scales 0.5– 2.5 mm long, dense, oblanceolate to ovate, white to light brown, laciniate to ciliate, base cordate, apex acute; abaxial laminar scales 0.5 –1 mm long, dense, not imbricate, patent, lanceolate to round, highly dissected, orange, long-ciliate, base stalked, apex filiform; abaxial costal scales 1–2 mm long, dense, pointing at right angles, not elevated, oblanceolate to round, light brown, ciliate, base cordate, apex acute; marginal scales 1–2 mm long, dense, oblanceolate, light brown, ciliate, base cordate, short-stalked, apex acute. Fertile leaves longer than the sterile leaves; petiole 2/3 the length of the fertile leaves; petiole scales same as the ones of the sterile leaves; lamina 10– 25 by 1.2 – 2.4 cm, narrowly-elliptic to linear-lanceolate, coriaceous, glabrescent with age, base broadly cuneate to obtuse, apex obtuse; adaxial laminar scales 0.5– 2.5 mm long, dense, imbricate, oblanceolate to round, white to orange, laciniate to ciliate, base cordate, apex acute; abaxial costal scales 0.5– 2 mm long, dense, oblanceolate to round, light brown to dark brown with lighter margin, laciniate to ciliate, base cordate, apex acute; intersporangial scales 0.7–1.5(–4) mm long, dense, not obscuring the sporangia, oblanceolate to round, orange to dark brown, sometimes mottled towards the apex, ciliate, base cordate, apex acute. Spores papillate, with ridges.

Distribution — Ecuador; (600 –) 2100– 3400 m. Epiphytic in montane forest and páramos.

Selection of other specimens examined. ECUADOR, Azuay, Cruz Pampa region above Baños ,c. 15 km SW of Cuenca,[2°54'S, 79°04'W], 2750–3050 m, 29–30 June 1945, Camp 3935 ( F, GH, MO, NY, US, VEN) . Bolivar, along first 15 km of road Chillanes-El Tambo , [1°56'S, 79°04'W], 2400 m, 18 July 1991, Van der Werff et al. 12448 ( MO, UC) . Cañar, N of Tipococha , [2°25'S, 78°59'W], 3200 m, 18 Aug. 1933, Diels 629 ( B) . Chimborazo, W slope of Azuay, close to Chunchi , [2°17'S, 78°55'W], 3000 m, s.d., Rimbach 696 ( S) . Cotopaxi, Quevedo-Latacunga road above Pilaló , 0°58'S, 78°58'W, 2850 m, 8 Apr. 1973, Holm-Nielsen et al. 3256 ( AAU, MO, NY, UC) . Los Ríos, Centinela ridge, c. 20 km E of Patricio Pilar, [1°24'S, 79°14'W], 600 m, 16 July 1991, Van der Werff et al. 12431 A ( MO) . Pichincha, carretera vieja Chillogallo-San Juan, sitio de colección San Juan-Ventanillas-Las Comunas , 23 June 1980, Jaramillo 2587 ( AAU) ; in silvis suban. Nono-Gualea , [0°04'S, 78°33'W], Sept. 1899, Sodiro s.n. ( P) .

Notes — Elaphoglossum corderoanum can be distinguished by its larger petiole scales oblanceolate to ovate, erose to laciniate, abaxial laminar scales lanceolate to (more commonly) round, highly dissected, long-ciliate, and ridged, papillate spores. The abaxial laminar scales, although dense, do not obscure the surface of the lamina.

Some specimens collected by Sodiro and annotated by him as E. corderoanum correspond to E. lehmannianum ; therefore, it might be that the original material is mixed. Sodiro designated all the specimens with large leaves and somewhat glabrous abaxial laminae as E. corderoanum . Examination of more material revealed that species with large leaves belong either to E. corderoanum or E. lehmannianum . To assign the lectotype I took into account the original description in which Sodiro stated that besides the larger leaves, the difference between E. corderoanum and E. bellermannianum and E. lehmannianum (in the original description as Acrostichum bellermannianum and A. muscosum ) is that the abaxial laminar scales of the sterile leaves and the adaxial laminar scales of the fertile leaves of E. corderoanum were “round similar to stellate hairs”. Round, highly dissected, long-ciliate laminar scales (similar to stellate hairs) distinguish E. corderoanum from E. bellermannianum 175 and E. lehmannianum . Another characteristic that distinguishes these species is that E. corderoanum has spores with ridges and papillae ( Fig. 1c ), whereas E. bellermannianum and E. lehmannianum have papillate spores without ridges ( Fig. 1b, h ). Because of its ridged spores and occurrence at high elevations, E. corderoanum can be confused with E. engelii . These two species are easy to distinguish by their habit, and rhizome and laminar scales. Typically, E. corderoanum is epiphytic, has rhizome scales that are entire to denticulate, and abaxial laminar scales that are round, highly dissected, long-ciliate, and spaced far enough apart that they do not obscure the lamina surface. In contrast, E. engelii is usually terrestrial, has rhizome scales that bear numerous cilia, and abaxial laminar scales that are lanceolate to oblanceolate and obscure the lamina surface.

See E. oculatum for a comparison with that species.

Figures

Map 4 Distribution of Elaphoglossum corderoanum (Sodiro) Christ.

Fig. 1 Spores of Elaphoglossum subsect. Muscosa. a. E. aschersonii; b. E. bellermannianum; c. E. corderoanum; d. E. engelii; e. E. gardnerianum; f. E. glabrescens; g. E. laxisquama; h. E. lehmannianum; i. E. muscosum; j. E. novogranatense; k. E. oculatum; l. E. oreophilum; m. E. quisqueyanum; n. E. ruficomum; o. E. yatesii (a: Moran 7645, NY; b: Meier 302, NY; c: Holm-Nielsen 3260, AAU; d: Sánchez 465, US; e: Wacket 186, UC; f: Buchtien 2725, US; g: Vásquez 28162, NY;h: Ruíz-Terán 976, NY;i: Underwood 3212, NY;j: Vasco 746, NY; k: Hutchison 1629, UC;l: Holm-Nielsen 19071, AAU; m: Zanoni 20917, NY;n: Sagástegui 12091, NY; o: Navarrete 1402, NY). — Scale bars = 10 µm.

Fig. 4 Elaphoglossum corderoanum (Sodiro) Christ. a. Habit; b. rhizome scale; c. larger petiole scale; d. smaller petiole scale; e. abaxial laminar surface; f. abaxial laminar scale; g. adaxial laminar surface; h. adaxial laminar scale; i. fertile lamina (all: Holm-Nielsen 3256, NY).