Davallia leptocarpa Mettenius, 1869 in Kuhn
Description
Rhizome without the scales 2-2.8 mm in diametre, white waxy under the scales (D. leptocarpa Rhizome). Scales red-brown without pale border, narrowed evenly towards the apex, not or seldom curling backward, bearing multiseptate hairs at least when young, peltate, 11-12 mm long by 1.5-2 mm broad. Stipes dark brown, adaxially grooved, 6-15 cm long, glabrous or with few scales. Lamina compound (D. leptocarpa Habitus), bipinnate or tripinnate towards base and in the middle part, deltoid and broadest towards base, glabrous, 9-20 cm long by 7-15 cm broad, not or slightly dimorphous. Longest petiolules 1-5 mm long. Pinnae narrowly ovate. Longest pinnae 4-10 cm long by 2.5-5.5 cm broad. Pinnules of at least the larger pinnae anadromous, linear oblong. Longest pinnules 20-30 mm long by 5-12 mm broad. Ultimate leaflets linear oblong, lobed almost to the midrib. Ultimate segments 2-4 mm long by 1-1.5 mm broad. Upper ridge at the junction of the costa and pinna-rachis not swollen. Leaf axes glabrous. Margins of the lamina of each leaflet not thickened. Veins in sterile ultimate lobes forked, reaching the margin. False veins not present. Sori separate, frequently single on a segment at the forking point of veins. Indusium also attached along the sides, pouch-shaped, oblong, longer than wide, 1.3-1.5 mm long by 0.5 mm broad, upper margin not elongated, truncate or slightly rounded, separated from or even with lamina margin (D. leptocarpa SEM, picture of indusia). Lamina generally extending into a tooth at both sides of a sorus.
Distribution
Pacific: Vanuatu (Aneityum only three collections).
Ecology
Hanging from trees in mountain woods.