Thysanosoria pteridiformis
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Notes
The two collections differ in the following ways. Beccari's sterile fronds have only 3 pairs of pinnae, those of Gibbs 6-8 pairs. Beccari's fertile fronds are old, with pinnae 6 mm wide (Kew specimen; Pichi Sermolli reports 7-12 mm), those of Gibbs young and not over 3 mm wide; the latter would have been wider when old, but perhaps not to 6 mm. Sterile plants would look very much like Lomariopsis kingii, and it is possible that some sterile specimens credited to that species are Thysanosoria. The spores of Thysanosoria are very much like those of L. kingii.
Pichi Sermolli (l.c.) regarded the collections of Beccari and Gibbs as representing two distinct species. The differences he cited include number of pinnae, but probably young plants of Thysanosoria, like those of Lomariopsis, have simple fronds, the number of pinnae in subsequent fronds gradually increasing with decrease in size of the apical lamina; in some cases fertile fronds with few pinnae are produced. As regards differences he described in the fertile pinnae, he failed to note that those on the Gibbs specimen are young and not fully ex- panded; the apical part of a Kew pinna from Beccari is not greatly different from the Gibbs specimen in width, and the sori on the Beccari specimen are not all wholly intramarginal.
Pichi Sermolli (l.c.) regarded the collections of Beccari and Gibbs as representing two distinct species. The differences he cited include number of pinnae, but probably young plants of Thysanosoria, like those of Lomariopsis, have simple fronds, the number of pinnae in subsequent fronds gradually increasing with decrease in size of the apical lamina; in some cases fertile fronds with few pinnae are produced. As regards differences he described in the fertile pinnae, he failed to note that those on the Gibbs specimen are young and not fully ex- panded; the apical part of a Kew pinna from Beccari is not greatly different from the Gibbs specimen in width, and the sori on the Beccari specimen are not all wholly intramarginal.