Hecistopteris J.Sm.
Descripción
Rhizomes compact, short-creeping to suberect, protostelic, appearing longcreeping due to proliferous thread-like roots, apical scales clathrate; fronds distichous; stipes short to nearly absent; blades very small (1–3 X 0.2–1 cm), minutely to decidedly furcate or bifurcate at the tip, flabellate and often shallowly to deeply lacerate, lacking a distinct midrib, glabrous, epidermis with linear idioblasts adaxially; veins free, dichotomously forking; sori along the veins (gymnogrammoid) in the distal part of the blade, indusia absent; paraphyses simple or branched with a funnelform apical cell; spores pale yellowish-hyaline, tetrahedral, surfaces relatively smooth with scattered papillae; gametophytes with single gemmae; x=?A
Forma de vida
Epipétrica, EpífitaA
Distribución
México (país) Nativo y no endémicoA
Categoría IUCN
No incluidaB
Categoría NOM-059-SEMARNAT-2010
No incluidaC
Discusión taxonómica
For over 150 years of its existence, Hecistopteris was considered a monotypic genus, but a second species was recently described from Ecuador (H. pinnatifida R. C. Moran & B. Øllg.), and a third species from Guyana has been added (Kelloff & McKee, 1998). These additional taxa are all based on newly collected specimens, thus reminding us how much more collecting must be done before we have an adequate understanding of the tropical ferns.
Hecistopteris is regarded by Crane (1997) as sister to Radiovittaria, and differs from that, as well as all other vittarioid ferns, by its very small, forking fronds, proliferous roots, and free veins.
A
Hecistopteris is regarded by Crane (1997) as sister to Radiovittaria, and differs from that, as well as all other vittarioid ferns, by its very small, forking fronds, proliferous roots, and free veins.
A