Vines and Climbing Plants of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands

Vines and Climbing Plants of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands 25
1. Hypolepis nigrescens Hook., Sp. Fil. 2: 66, t.
90c. 1852.
Fig. 6. A
Clambering fern. Rhizomes branched, dark
brown, pubescent. Fronds 4-pinnate-pinnatifid,
with indeterminate growth, 5-10 m long; blades
chartaceous, narrowly oblong-lanceolate in
outline; upper surface glabrous or less frequently
puberulent; lower surface with scattered hairs
along the main veins; pinnae opposite or
subopposite, broadly lanceolate, up to 35 cm long;
primary pinnules alternate; blades 18-24 cm long;
stipe and rachis reddish to dark brown, with
numerous dark brown straight or recurved spines.
Sori circular, submarginal; indusia very narrow,
glabrous.
Phenology: Collected in fertile condition in
February, July, and September.
Status: Native, rare.
Distribution: Known from three localities in
Puerto Rico, in the interior or at the edges of moist
forests. Also in the Greater Antilles and from
Mexico to Bolivia.
Public forest: Toro Negro.
2. Hypolepis repens (L.) C. Presl, Tent. Pterid.
162. 1836.
Fig. 6. B
BASIONYM: Lonchitis repens L.
SYNONYM: Hypolepis aculeata (Spreng.) J. Sm.
Clambering fern. Rhizome covered with
brown hairs. Fronds ascending, clambering or
arching, 3-pinnate-pinnatifid, 2-4 m long; blades
coriaceous, triangular in outline, up to 1.5 m wide;
upper surface with scattered hairs along the
midvein; lower surface shiny, pubescent; pinnae
lanceolate-triangular, 20-50 cm long; primary
pinnules subopposite, 7-22 cm longstipe and
rachis yellowish or light brown, with straight
spines, the stipe darker toward the base. Sori
circular, submarginal; indusia membranaceous,
whitish, subentire.
Phenology: Collected in fertile condition in
August and September.
Status: Native, common.
Distribution: In moist secondary and disturbed
forests along the Cordillera Central and the Sierra
de Luquillo. Also in the Antilles (except Jamaica)
and continental tropical America.
Public forests: Carite, El Yunque, Guilarte,
Maricao, and Toro Negro.
3. Hypolepis tenerrima Maxon, J. Wash. Acad.
Sci. 14: 196. 1924.
Fig. 6. C
Clambering fern. Fronds weakly ascending or
clambering, 2-3-pinnate-pinnatifid, up to 2.5 m
in length; blades membranaceous, elongatetriangular
in outline, 1-1.5 m wide at the base;
glabrous or puberulent, with articulate or
glandular hairs on both surfaces, the venation
light brown; pinnae subopposite or alternate, up
to 80 cm long, obliquely oblong-deltoid to oblongovate,
acuminate; rachis puberulent, unarmed or
with some scattered straight spines; primary
pinnules subopposite or alternate, 16-20 cm long,
narrowly oblong-lanceolate in outline; secondary
pinnules alternate, 2.5-4 cm long, light to dark
brown, oblong, obtuse; stipe and rachis light to
dark brown, glabrescent, with non-pointed
outgrowths. Sori submarginal; indusia
membranaceous, greenish yellow, crenate.
Phenology: Collected in fertile condition in
March.
Status: Native, uncommon.
Distribution: Known in Puerto Rico from two
collections made by Paul Sintenis at the end of
the nineteenth century from primary forests in
Adjuntas (Sintenis 4105) and Utuado (Sintenis
6454). Also in Hispaniola.
Public forest: Toro Negro.
4. Hypolepis urbanii Brause in Urb., Symb.
Antill. 9: 344. 1925.
Fig. 6. D
Clambering fern. Rhizomes covered with
brown articulate hairs. Fronds clambering, 3pinnate-pinnatifid,
3 m or more in length; blades
coriaceous, pubescent on the lower surface,
triangular in outline, up to 1 m wide at the base,
the venation yellowish; pinnae subopposite, up
to 50 cm long, oblong-deltoid, acuminate; rachis
glabrescent or slightly muricate; primary pinnules
subopposite or alternate, 3-15 cm long, narrowly
oblong-deltoid in outline; stipe and rachis light
brown, dark toward the base, glabrescent,
unarmed. Sori submarginal; indusia
membranaceous, yellowish, glabrous, crenate.