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Asiatic holly fern, holly fern, netvein hollyfern

Habit Plants terrestrial or on rock.
Stems

erect or ascending, stolons absent.

Leaves

monomorphic, evergreen.

Petiole

± 1/2–3/4 length of blade, base not swollen;

vascular bundles more than 3, arranged in arc, ± round in cross section.

Blade

oblong-lanceolate, 1-pinnate with pinnae not lobed, distal pinnae only slightly smaller, blade ending in basally lobed pinna ± similar to lateral pinnae, papery or somewhat leathery.

Pinnae

not articulate to rachis, segment margins crenate to spinulose, sometimes also coarsely dentate;

proximal pinnae not reduced, petiolulate, equilateral or somewhat inequilateral with acroscopic base more developed;

costae adaxially grooved, grooves continuous from rachis to costae;

indument of filiform scales abaxially, absent adaxially.

Veins

elaborately anastomosing, areoles formed with 1–3 included veinlets.

Indusia

peltate, persistent or caducous.

Sori

in 2 or more rows between midrib and margin, round.

Spores

brown, with inflated folds or wings.

x

= 41.

Cyrtomium

Distribution
from FNA
HI; North America; Asia; Africa including Madagascar
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

This difficult genus requires further systematic study. Estimates of species numbers have ranged from 9 (C. Christensen 1930) to 59 (Shing K. H. 1965). The group might better be considered a subgenus of Polystichum, from which it is poorly differentiated morphologically.

Species ca. 15 (2 in the flora).

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Key
1. Pinnae 4-10(-12) pairs, leathery, shiny adaxially, margins sometimes undulate or coarsely dentate, but not minutely crenulate or denticulate.
C. falcatum
1. Pinnae (8-)10-25 pairs, papery, not shiny adaxially, margins minutely crenulate-denticulate.
fortunei var. fortunei
Source FNA vol. 2. Author: George Yatskievych.
Parent taxa Dryopteridaceae
Subordinate taxa
C. falcatum, C. fortunei var. fortunei
Name authority C. Presl: Tent. Pterid. 86. (1836)
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