Phlegmariurus chamaeleon (Herter) B. Øllgaard (2012b: 13)

Øllgaard, Benjamin & Testo, Weston, 2021, The Lycopodiaceae of Panamá, Phytotaxa 526 (1), pp. 1-66 : 12

5.­­­ Phlegmariurus chamaeleon (Herter) B. Øllgaard (2012b: 13) . Fig. 4

Urostachys chamaeleon Herter (1958: 82) .— Lycopodium chamaeleon (Herter) Morton (1964: 72) .— Huperzia chamaeleon (Herter) B. Øllgaard (1987: 169) . Type:— COSTA RICA: Barranca Grande, near San Marcos, Jiménez s. n. ( US).

Erect or ascending, sparsely branched, to ca 25 cm tall, or to 50 cm long. Shoots homophyllous, densely foliose, almost equally thick throughout, 6–10 mm in diam. incl. leaves. Stems tumid, 2–4 mm thick excl. leaves, almost smooth. Leaves borne in alternating whorls of 6–10, these ca. 1 mm apart, patent to reflexed, usually strongly recurved, subulate, 4–6 × 0.5–0.7 mm, subcoriaceous, convex and nitid above, with slightly revolute, entire margins. Leaf bases not or slightly decurrent; sporangia 1–1.5 mm wide.

Distribution:— Costa Rica and Panamá.

Habitats:—Terrestrial on banks in montane forest, 2350 m elev. This species tends to grow in more protected conditions than P. reflexus but at a lower elevation than P. hoffmannii .

Specimens­­­examined:— Chiriquí: Cerro Punta, Las Nubes PILA, sendero La Cascada bajando hacia la caida de agua, 2350 m, Florpan 6875 (AAU).