Blechnum lanceola Swartz (1817: 71)

Dittrich, Vinícius Antonio De Oliveira, Salino, Alexandre & Monteiro, Reinaldo, 2015, The Blechnum occidentale (Blechnaceae, Polypodiopsida) species group in southern and southeastern Brazil, Phytotaxa 231 (3), pp. 201-229 : 215-217

8. Blechnum lanceola Swartz (1817: 71) . Fig. 4D–F

Spicanta lanceola (Sw.) Kuntze (1891: 821) . Type:— BRAZIL. Minas Gerais: Villa Rica, without date, G.W. Freyreis s.n. (holotype S R675).

Blechnum lanceolatum Raddi (1819: 294) . Type:— BRAZIL. Rio de Janeiro: Corcovado, without date, G. Raddi s.n. (holotype PI, isotype FI).

Blechnum minutulum Christ in Schwacke (1900: 27). Lectotype (designated here):— BRAZIL. Goiás: Serra Dourada , January 1895, E. Ule 527 ( BM000769827 , isolectotypes LP002621, P00347405, P00347406, P00347407, US00067435).

Plants epipetric or terrestrial; rhizomes erect, short, stoloniferous, the scales narrowly triangular, tan, atrocostate or concolorous, margin predominantly entire with rare denticles, 1.7 × 0.5 mm at base; fronds monomorphic, 4.7–24.5 cm long; stipes 0.8–12.6 cm long, 0.4–1.2 mm diam., paleaceous, with scales similar to those of stem at base and sometimes until half their length, concolorous; blade 4.3–10.4 × 1.6–4.6 cm, linear-elliptic, narrowly elliptic or linear-lanceolate, simple, entire, membranaceous to papiraceous, apex acuminate, attenuate or cuneate, base cuneate or obtuse, glabrous, margin apparently entire (finely denticulate), plane to revolute; rachis glabrous on both surfaces; veins free, simple or 1–2-bifurcate, with clavate ends before the margin.

Distribution and habitat: — Brazil (Mato Grosso, Goiás, Minas Gerais, Espírito Santo [first record], Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, and Rio Grande do Sul); furthermore Colombia [first record], Suriname, Peru, Bolivia, Paraguay and Argentina. Individuals of this species preferentially grow on boulders at streams, but are also found on the banks of rivers on the ground. It occurs both in riparian forests of the interior of the country such as in dense and mixed humid forests and seasonal semideciduous forests. In the study area, it grows between 50 and 950 m. The species is not endangered in the study area.

Comments: —A well-characterized species as it is the only in the genus with simple, entire, monomorphic fronds (sometimes with a pair of basal pinnae, not in the study area). Christ (1900) described Blechnum minutulum in central Brazil, but it differs from B. lanceola only in size (and spores according to Sehnem, 1968), so that the author agrees with Murillo (1968), who had already proposed the synonymization of this taxon under B. lanceola since variations in environmental conditions influence the size of the plants. Individuals from central Brazil have well-developed pilosity, unlike individuals from São Paulo and southern Brazil. This is also a characteristic determined largely by the environment where these plants grow, as documented for other ferns.

Selected specimens examined: — COLOMBIA. Cundinamarca: La Palma, Vereda el Potrero , 1100 m, 30 June 1985, J.R.I. Wood 4953 (K) .— BRAZIL. Minas Gerais: Belo Horizonte, Barreiro, Área da Copasa , 13 September 1996, A. Salino 2806 ( BHCB, UEC) ; Betim, Fazenda do Cabuí, near Contagem , 900 m, 10 June 1945, L.O. Williams & V. Assis 7336 ( RB) ; Frutal, Serra do Marimbondo, Rodovia BR-153, ca. 22 km de Frutal , Fazenda Chapadão , ca. 20°02’S, 48°56’W, ca. 650 m, 22 January 1996, M.R. Pietrobom-Silva 2500 ( SJRP) ; Gurinhatã, Serra do Lajeado, Rodovia BR-364, ca. 10 km do trevo de Gurinhatã , ca. 19°12’S, 49°47’W, ca. 620 m, 25 January 1996, M.R. Pietrobom-Silva 2801 ( SJRP) ; Ibiraci, Hotel Fazenda Fagundes , 20°27’S, 47°08’W, 30 October 1999, I.M. Assis 4 ( SJRP) ; Ituiutaba, Vertente do Carmo , 25 June 1948, A. Macedo 1118 ( BM, RB) ; Montes Claros, Serra do Catuni , 10 November 1938, Markgraf et al. 3263 (B, RB) ; Nova Lima, Mata da Mutuca , 15 March 2002, F.A. Carvalho et al. 93 ( HRCB) ; Ouro Preto, 1936, J. Badini 157 ( RB) ; Santana do Garambéu, trecho do alto Rio Grande adjacente a zona urbana de Santana do Garambéu , 21°36’05”S, 44°06’16”W, 1100–1150 m, 12 May 2001, A. Salino & P.O. Morais 6809 ( BHCB, HRCB) ; Uberlândia, Estação Ecológica do Panga, 11 March 1999, J. Prado & M. Ranal 1010 ( HRCB, HUFU). Unknown municipality: Serra do Caraça , May 1907, L. Damazio 1857 (B, OUPR, RB) ; perto de Cordisburgo, without date, L. Damazio s.n. ( OUPR 10454 ). Espírito Santo: Pancas, Pontões Capixabas, subida para a Pedra de Vôo Livre , 19°14’46.0”S, 40°52’39.3”W, 665 m, 19 May 2008, A. Salino et al. 13437 ( BHCB). Rio de Janeiro: Itaguaí, Rio Mazomba , 12 January 1950, A.C. Brade & A. Duarte 20160 ( RB) ; Parati , ponta da Trindade, 25 November 1989, E.D. Castellani 26 ( SJRP) ; Rio de Janeiro, Corcovado , September 1910, A.C. Brade 5157 ( HB) ; 1844, H.A. Weddell s.n. ( RB 30758 ). São Paulo: Analândia, Serra do Cuscuzeiro, Sítio Água Limpa , ca. 950 m, 28 August 1993, A. Salino 1814 ( BHCB, HRCB) ; Buritizal, Proximidades da Usina HE Buritis , 15 November 1991, A. Salino 1177 ( UEC) ; Campinas, Barão Geraldo, Reserva Florestal Santa Genebra , 16 March 1992, A. Salino 1326 ( UEC) ; Ubatuba, Parque Estadual da Serra do Mar, Núcleo Picinguaba , ca. 50 m, 02 May 2001, V.A.O. Dittrich et al. 876 ( HRCB). Rio Grande do Sul: Derrubadas , Parque Estadual do Turvo , 10 January 1982, R.M. Bueno 46 ( ICN) ; Júlio de Castilhos, Vila Visconde do Rio Branco , 650 m, January 1941, J. Piveta s.n. ( PACA 73717 , RB 43780 ) ; Rio Pardo, Fazenda Hortícola , 70 m, 07 August 1903, F.R. Schoenwald s.n. & Deutrich ( ICN 18344 ) ; Santa Cruz do Sul, Passo da Mangueira , without date, C. Jürgens 67 ( ICN) .

Figures

FIGURE 4.A–C.Blechnum laevigatum.A. Habit. B. Lamina apex showing indument. C. Rhizome scale.D–F.Blechnum lanceola: D. Habit. E. Part of a pinna showing venation and sori. F. Rhizome scale. (A–C from L. Krieger s.n., CES 11193; D–F from A.C. Brade 3365 (CESJ).