Athyrium Nephrodioides (Baker) Christ (Athyriaceae : Pteridophyta): An Addition To the Fern Flora of India

2005·0.63 MB·

by  C R Fraser-Jenkins

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES
29. ATHYRIUM NEPHRODIOIDES (BAKER) CHRIST (ATHYRIACEAE: PTERIDOPHYTA);
AN ADDITION TO THE FERN FLORA OF INDIA
Dixit(1984) enumeratedthe total species offerns and oftenlongerthantherest,lowestpinnaebecoming±distant
fern-alliesofpresentdaypoliticalboundaryofIndia,together and slightly reduced; pinna lobes crowded, ± triangular,
with their distribution in India and world, and reported 67 unlobed or only very shallowly lobed at the margins, their
familiesbelongingto 191 generaspreadovermorethan 1000 apices rounded-pointed, bearing short, acute teeth at the
species.Recently,Chandra(2(X)0)furtherattemptedtocompile margins and particularly at the apex. Sori borne half-way
the total ferns ofIndia primarily based on previous records between the pinna-lobe midrib and margin, oftenbecoming
andenumerated34families, 144generaandmorethan 1100 confluent when ripe, small, oval or elongated, indusiate;
species from India with a note on their distribution in India indusia small, thin, soon shrivelling. Spores small, bean-
and the world. Khullar (2000) has published an illustrated shaped,±smooth,withsomeminutepapillae,non-perisporiate.
fern flora of the western Himalaya and he too has not This species is very close in frond morphology to
mentioned its occurrence in the western Himalaya. It is Athyriumrupicola(Edgew.exHope)C.Chr.,butdiffersfrom
interesting to note that these authors, together with many itinitslaminabeingmoremarkedlytaperingandthepinnae
others,havenotrecordedAthyriumnephrodioid.esfromIndia less deeply lobed, with the pinna-lobes hardly lobed and by
so far. It is being reported for the first time from India and its non-perisporiate spores.
forms aninterestingadditiontotheIndianfernflora. Ecology:GrowsathighaltitudesinthemainHimalayan
A briefdescription, ecology and distribution in India rangesbetweenc. 2700and3500maltitudesonsteep,rocky
andthe worldareprovided in thispaperalong with voucher slopes, among boulders or screes in open places or among
specimensexaminedbyFraser-JenkinsinIndiaandabroad. bushes and small shrubs.
Athyriumnephrodioides(Baker)Christ,Bull.Soc.Bot. Specimensexamined:Sikkim(S.S.Bir2242,2245,4998
Franc.52,Mem. 1:47(1905). PAN! &2254Kl);Kumaon:Pithoragarhdistrict,aboveBudhi
Asplenium nephrodioides Baker, J. Bot. Lond. 1887: inKalivalleyJ.F.Duthie,s.n. Kl);ArunachalPradesh(Tawang,
170(1887).AthyriumtibeticumChinginC.Y.WuFI.Xizangica Kameng), A.K. Baishya 90493 Assam!). All det. by Fraser-
1: 137(1983). Ching(feS.K.WuinC.Y. Jenkins.
WuR
Xizangica1: 137(1983). Distribution: India (Uttaranchal, Sikkim, Arunachal
Rhizomeupright,thick,oftenbranchingtoformasmall Pradesh), E. Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar, S.E. Tibet, S.W. and
clump, surrounded by many old, pale, widened stipe bases. C.China(Yunnan,Szechuan, HupehandKansu).
Stipe short, bearing somewhat scattered, mid-or reddish-
brown,twistedscales,becomingslightlydenseatbase,terete, August 11,2003 C.R.FRASER-JENKINS
butwidenedandflattenedatitsbase, stipeandrachispaleor BritishMuseum,London
stramineous.Fronds±delicate,bipinnatifid.Laminanarrowly
lanceolatewithanacuminateapexandtaperingmarkedlyto Y.P.S.PANGTEY
an attenuated, very narrow base, widest above the middle, DepartmentofBotany,
herbaceous; pinnae many, ± short, elongated triangular- D.S.B.Campus,KumaonUniversity,
lanceolate,or±linear,withnarrowacuteapices,shallowlyto Nainital263002,Uttaranchal,India.
deeply pinnatifidly-lobed, the basal acroscopic pinna lobe Email:[email protected]
REFERENCES
Chandra, S. (2000): The Ferns ofIndia(Enumeration, Synonyms & Distribution). DehraDun.
Dixit, R.D. (1984): ACensusofthe IndianPteridophytes. Howrah.
Khullar, S.P. (2000): An Illustrated Fern Floraofthe West Himalaya. Vol. II. Dehra Dun.
30. DEPARIA ACUTA (CHING) FRAS.-JENK. (ATHYRIACEAE; PTERIDOPHYTA):
A NEW RECORD FOR KUMAON HIMALAYA
WhilecompilingthepteridophyticfloraofUttaranchal, commonspeciesofDepariainourHerbarium.Afteradetailed
a few specimens of the genus Deparia Hook. & Grev. study of these specimens, they turned out to be Deparia
(Athyriaceae) were collected from Pindari glacier areas in acuta (Ching) Fras.-Jenk. This tentative identification was
KumaonHimalayaandthesespecimenswerelyingwithsome later confirmed by Fraser-Jenkins. A perusal of recently
374 J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc., 102 (3), Sep-Dec 2005