Sphaerostephanos polycarpus

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Sphaerostephanos polycarpus

Distribution

Asia-Tropical, Lesser Sunda Islands east of Lombok absent, Pacific: Samoa (Samoa present), Peninsular Thailand present, Philippines north of 10° absent, Solomon Islands present
Peninsular Thailand; throughout Malesia except Philippines north of 10° and Lesser Sunda Islands east of Lombok; Solomon Islands, Samoa.

Notes

Quite small plants may be fertile; in these sometimes the second veins may both reach the margin above base of sinus. Specimens with long hairs on the lower surface do not differ from the normal condition in other ways, and length of hairs varies; there is no evident correlation of long hairs with drier habitats, but this is possible.
Aspidium perakense Bedd. was based on young sterile plants growing on a rock; they are very hairy. Day collected with them fragments of a fertile frond of an abnormal Christella; this is the source of Beddome's description of sori.
Mesochlaena toppingii Copel. was based on a small hairy specimen. S. unijugus was also based on a small specimen in which at most the second acroscopic vein passes to the sinus-membrane; the upper surface was almost or quite glandless but similar specimens from New Britain have many glands. Another specimen from the Solomon Islands, otherwise similar, has a fair number of glands on the upper surface.

Citation

Kunze 1840 – In: Farnkr.: t. 11, 12
Bedd. 1892: Handb.: 80
Bedd. 1892: Handb.: 74
Copel. 1960: Fern Fl. Philip.: 379
C. Chr. 1934 – In: Gard. Bull. Str. Settl.: 254
v.A.v.R. 1908: Handb.: 232
Racib. 1898 – In: Fl. Btzg: 197
Bedd. 1883: Handb.: 199