Author: Copeland, 1905 (as section of Microlepia)
Description
Rhizome bearing only scales. Roots restricted to the ventral side of lateral buds. Scales yellowish, light brown, or nearly black, with pale border extending from base to apex, quickly diminishing or disappearing into the apex, or without pale border, not bearing multiseptate hairs, lacking marginal setae (or with marginal setae in Davallodes novoguineense ), entire, smooth on the adaxial surface, peltate, or basifixed with cordate base with much overlapping lobes (in Davallodes viscidulum ). Stipe articulated on phyllopodia, grooved, bearing hairs and/or scales when young. Lamina compound, pinnate with strongly dissected pinnae or bipinnate towards base and in the middle part, elongate and narrowed towards base, bearing multicellular hairs, not or slightly dimorphous. Hairs between veins on either surface present or not. Pinnae linear-triangular. Pinnulae or pinnalobes linear oblong. Ultimate segments obtuse, without a dominant tooth. Pinnules of at least the larger pinnae catadromous. Rachis adaxially raised. Leaf axes, at least rachises, hairy. Veins in ultimate lobes simple or forked, not reaching the margin. False veins wanting. Sori indusiate, separate, frequently single on a segment, facing midveins at the forking point of veins or (rarely) at the bending point. Indusium scale-like, attached at the narrow, cordate base only, or attached at the base and only part way up at the sides, or also attached along the sides, pouch-shaped, or attached at broad base and hardly or not by sides, or very small, inconspicuous.
Chromosomes
In Davallodes x = 40 (Manton and Sledge, 1954).
Distribution
Six species restricted to Malesia.