Phegopteris decursive-pinnata (H. C. Hall) Fée

Winged beech fern, Japanese beech fern

Etymology Decursive means running down the stem. Pinnata means featherlike. The reference is to the pinnae running down the stem.
Description Rhizome: long-creeping, branching, black, scales linear, attenuate at apex, to 8 mm long, brown, shining, also hairs.
Frond: 60 cm high by 15 cm wide, deciduous, monomorphic, blade/stipe ratio: 2:1 to 3:1.
Stipe: straw-colored at base, scales tan, lanceolate, below, and pointed hairs on both sides, vascular bundles: 2, crescent-shaped.
Blade: pinnate-pinnatifid or some might say pinnatifid-pinnatifid, narrowly elliptic, herbaceous or papery, light green or grayish green, hairy on both surfaces; scales on every axis of plants, hairs at every portion of plants, simple, forked, acicular, straight or hooked.
Pinnae: 20 to 25 pair, base fused to the winged rachis, the lowest pair (or two lowest) unconnected by wings to the upper ones, diminished, eared, larger pinnae alternate; pinnules round or moderately acute at apex, variously lobed to costae one-third way down; costae not grooved, ovate-lanceolate, light tan to shiny brown scales below; margins crenate at margin; veins free, simple or forked, not reaching the margin.
Sori: round or oblong, many on a segment, medial, between midrib and margin, indusium: absent, sporangia: tan.
Culture Habitat: on rocks in lowlands, low mountains. Distribution: Japan, southern Korea, southern China, Thailand, Indochina and India . Hardy to -30°C, USDA Zone 4.
Distinctive Characteristics the winged rachis combined with the narrow, elliptic blade is unique
Synonyms
Polypodium decursive-pinnata H. C. Hall
Thelypteris decursive-pinnata (H. C. Hall) Ching
Lastrea decursive-pinnata (H. C. Hall) J. Smith
Dryopteris decursive-pinnata (H. C. Hall)O. Kuntze

Phegopteris decursive-pinnata habit.  From the Dutch Fern Society.
Valid XHTML 1.0     Reports of errors and omissions appreciated: toms AT hardyfernlibrary.com (please replace the AT with @)