Dicranopteris, Bernhardi, 1805

Lima, Lucas Vieira & Salino, Alexandre, 2022, Reestablishing Dicranopteris spissa (Gleicheniaceae, Polypodiopsida) from synonymy, an endemic species from Brazil, Phytotaxa 533 (1), pp. 98-104 : 103

Key to the Brazilian species of Dicranopteris

1. Laminae glabrous abaxially, only with unicellular globose glandular hairs on the secondary veins................................ D. flexuosa

- Laminae pubescent abaxially, with multicellular hairs or, when present, unicellular bacilliform glandular hairs on secondary veins ...................................................................................................................................................................................................2

2. Plants erect; fronds forked once (rarely twice); ultimate branches with caudate apex; accessory branches entire to slightly lobed at the base, dissimilar to the ultimate branches ...................................................................................................................... D. nervosa

- Plants scrambling; fronds forked two to several times; ultimate branches with pinnatifid apex; accessory branches pinnatisect, similar to the ultimate branches..........................................................................................................................................................3

3. Segments patent to strongly retroflex (northern Brazil, Guiana Shield) ... Dicranopteris seminuda (Klotzsch) Maxon (1933: 140)

- Segments ascendant, occasionally almost patent (southeast and northeast Brazil)............................................................................4

4. Segments with hairs restrict to the midrib base; secondary veins glabrous or with bacilliform glandular hairs .................. D. spissa

- Segments with hairs all through the midrib; secondary veins with hairs........................................................................ D. rufinervis