Elaphoglossum latum
Description
Rhizomes 4–6 mm diam., short-creeping; rhizome scales 2.5 cm long, linear, orange- to red-brown, lustrous, entire; fronds 25–48 cm long, approximate; phyllopodia 0.5–1 cm long; stipes 0.5–1 cm long, nearly absent, less than 1⁄30 of sterile frond length, stout, stramineous to brown; stipe scales 3–6 mm long, spreading, subulate, orange, lustrous, entire, the stipes also bearing minute glandular hairs; sterile blades 24–47 X 4.5–5.7 cm, oblanceolate, papyraceous to coriaceous, bases narrowly (or rarely broadly) cuneate, apices long-acuminate to caudate; veins ca. 1 mm apart, at 60–70° angle to costa; hydathodes absent; blade scales 2–3 mm long, subulate, orange, lustrous, especially concentrated on the costae and margins, scattered on abaxial blade surfaces, entire, very sparse on adaxial surfaces; lamina also with minute, erect, glandular hairs; fertile fronds much smaller than the sterile, stipes 1⁄15–1⁄5 the frond length, with long, linear, orange scales on the abaxial costae, intersporangial scales absent.A
A. Mickel, J. T. & Smith, A. R. 2004: The Pteridophytes of Mexico Vol. 88
Discussion
Elaphoglossum latum has fronds that are virtually sessile (stipes to 1 cm) and oblanceolate with orange subulate scales. It resembles E. apodum of the West Indies, Venezuela, and Nicaragua, but E. latum is distinct by its broader blades (4.5–5.7 cm vs. 0.9–4.4 cm).B
B. Mickel, J. T. & Smith, A. R. 2004: The Pteridophytes of Mexico Vol. 88
Specimen
Chis (Breedlove 48328, CAS, 57355, CAS, ENCB; Martínez S. 25922, MEXU).D
D. Mickel, J. T. & Smith, A. R. 2004: The Pteridophytes of Mexico Vol. 88