Meniscium hostmannii (Klotzsch) R.S.Fernandes & Salino

Fernandes, Rozijane Santos, Yesilyurt, Jovita Cislinski & Salino, Alexandre, 2014, New species and combinations in Meniscium (Thelypteridaceae), Phytotaxa 184 (1), pp. 1-11 : 8

Meniscium hostmannii (Klotzsch) R.S.Fernandes & Salino , comb. nov.

Polypodium hostmannii Klotzsch (1847: 397) . Dryopteris hostmannii ( Klotzsch 1847: 397) Maxon & Morton (1938: 369) . Type:— SURINAM. Without locality, without date, Hostmann 828 (lectotype B.200064474, here designated, isolectotypes B, K, P, US).

Selected specimens examined:— COLOMBIA. Chocó: Carretera Quibdó-Guayabal , 25 April 1975, 40 m, E . Forero et al. 1177 ( P) . — VENEZUELA. Trujillo: Flor de Patria , road side at 09°20’N, 70°38’W, 850 m, 2 February 1978. W . V . Cotthem 1505 ( UC); En las cercanías de Vitú, Cerro El Zamuro, Qda. El Limón, Selvas húmedas siempreverdes y selvas nubladas, en la vertiente norte de la serranía, 09°28’N, 70°24’W, 1800–1900 m, 23 November 1984, F . Ortega & H . van der Werff 2298 ( NY, UC). Mérida: District Sucre, 15 km al norte de La Azulita, 17 August 1987, F . Ortega & R . F . Smith 3137 ( BM) . — GUYANA. Without locality, 1939, H . M. P . S. Majarurú & D. Fanthawe 244 ( BM) .— SURINAM. Pirana, Appum 1469 ( K) .— FRENCH GUIANA. Saint-Maurice-Région de Saint-Laurent Piste d’Apatou, 05°28’N, 54°1’W, 2 February 1990, G . Cremers & M . Hoff 11263 ( P); Route de Paul-Isnard-4, Bassin de la Mana , 05°21’N, 53°57’W, 40 m, 4 April 2005, M . Boudrie 4017 ( NY, P) .— BRAZIL. Amazonas: November 1907, J . W . H. Traill 1405 ( P); Goiás: 1895, A . Glaziou 22633 ( K); Roraima: Serra Tepequem , 1200 m, 18 February 1967, G . T . Prance et al. 4503 ( NY) .— BOLIVIA. Santa Cruz: Velasco , 14°31’16’’S, 60°44’14’’W, 700 m, M . Peña-Chocarro 94 ( NY) .

Distribution and habitat:— Meniscium hostmannii is distributed in Venezuela, Colombia, Guyana, French Guiana, Surinam, Brazil and Bolivia. It is associated with forest formations, where it usually grows on hillsides, along streams or trails exposed to the sun, at 40–1200 m.

Notes:— Meniscium hostmannii has been treated as a synonym of Meniscium arborescens Humboldt et Bonpland ex Willdenow (1810: 133) by some authors ( Maxon & Morton 1938; Smith 1993; Smith 1995a, b). However, based on studies of the types housed in P, B and K herbaria, we concluded that M. arborescens and M. salzmanni Fée (1852: 223) represent a single species, and that Meniscium hostmannii is more similar to M. longifolium Desvaux (1827: 223) . They match in having linear pinnae, stalked basal pinnae with usually cuneate bases, and dense indument on abaxial surface of the pinnae and sporangia. Meniscium hostmannii has an abaxial laminar indument composed of a mixture of scales and acicular trichomes scattered on the costae and the veins but it is glabrous between the veins, while M. longifolium has acicular trichomes, dense to moderate and numerous short-stipitate glands on costae, veins and laminar surface, and rarely with filiform scales on the costae and veins.