A Revised Handbook to the FLORA OF CEYLON VOLUME XV, PART B Aspleniaceae Hymenophyllaceae Parkeriaceae Azollaceae Isoetaceae Polypodiaceae Blechnaceae Lomariopsidaceae Psilotaceae Cyatheaceae Loxogrammaceae Pteridaceae Davalliaceae Lycopodiaceae Salviniaceae Dennstaedtiaceae Marattiaceae Schizaeaceae Dryopteridaceae Marsileaceae Selaginellaceae Equisetaceae Oleandraceae Thelypteridaceae Gleicheniaceae Ophioglossaceae Vittariaceae Grammitidaceae Osmundaceae Woodsiaeeae lay F ancis & 0 Tay or &F ancis Group http://taylorandfrancis.com A Revised Handbook to the FLORA OF CEYLON VOLUME XV, PART B FERNS AND FERN-ALLIES Edited by MONIKA SHAFFER-FEHRE Sponsored jointly by the University of Peradeniya, Department of Agriculture, Peradeniya, Sri Lanka, National Science Foundation of Sri Lanka and the Overseas Development Administration, United Kingdom General Editor M.D. DASSANAYAKE Editorial Board M.D. DASSANAYAKE W.D. CLAYTON Science Publishers Enfield (NH) Jersey Plymouth CIP data will be provided on request. SCIENCE PUBLISHERS An imprint of Edenbridge Ltd., British Isles. Post Office Box 699 Enfield, New Hampshire 03748 United States of America Website: http://www.scipub.net [email protected] (marketing department) [email protected] (editorial department) [email protected] (for all other enquiries) ISBN 13: 978-1-57808-411-l (set) ISBN 13: 978-1-57808-384-8 (Part A) ISBN 13: 978-1-57808-410-4 (hbk)(Part B) © 2006, Copyright reserved All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without prior permission of the publisher. This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not by way of trade or otherwise be lent, re-sold, hired out, or otherwise circulated without the publisher's prior consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser. Published by Science Publishers, Enfield, NH, USA An imprint of Edenbridge Ltd. FOREWORD Although ferns were not included in Trimen’s original five-volume ‘A Hand­ book to the Flora of Ceylon’, they form a significant part of the vascular flora of the island. A good deal of fern research was carried out contemporaneously to, but independently of, Trimen’s work. Publications, though, were widely scattered throughout the literature or constituted major works in their own right, i.e. that of R.H. Beddome 1863-1883. The Overseas Development Agency (ODA) agreed to finance, the preparation of, an additional volume, in the new work ‘A Re­ vised Handbook to the Flora of Ceylon’, in order to provide an accessible taxonomic base for studies on this element of Sri Lankan vegetation. This volume has been compiled from contributions by authors of widely differing experience. The previous work of W.A. Sledge 1956-1982, too, is a highly erudite treatment that was a welcome guide to many. Variability in the depth of accounts in the present publication provides, in itself, a valuable insight into the ways such descriptions can be approached. No apology is made for including some longer texts for the reader to benefit from specialist knowledge. Sri Lankan ferns are of special importance due to the number of endemics to the island. Of the 351 fern species treated in this book 58 are endemic to the island, and an additional 30 species are specific to only Sri Lanka and South­ ern India. The statistics thus show about one quarter of the fern flora of Sri Lanka to be endemic. Approximately 50% of all fern taxa are part of the floras of South Asia, South East Asia and China. (References at end of Introduction) W.D. CLAYTON MONIKA SHAFFER-FEHRE May 2006 lay F ancis & 0 Tay or &F ancis Group http://taylorandfrancis.com ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS It is a pleasure to record our thanks to our sponsors and, in particular, to the Overseas Development Agency (ODA) who financed the additional Volume XV of the ‘A Revised Handbook to the Flora of Ceylon’. It is our sad duty to announce the death of David Philcox who was a contributor to ‘A Revised Handbook to the Flora of Ceylon’ for a consider­ able number of years. He gave of his expertise throughout a wide range of families in several volumes. We remember his ebullient character and his gen­ erous advice and support when it was required for matters of the work.’ We thank Josephine Camus, pteridologist of The Natural History Museum, London, for reading the text of the Introduction and adding support through valuable comments. Dr Nicholas Hind, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew helped with generous ad­ vice. His suggestions were gratefully received and incorporated. M. S-F. deeply appreciates the kindness of Prof. R.J. Johns, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, for stimulating her interest in the ferns of Sri Lanĸa and for providing the chance for her to contribute to ‘A Revised Handbook to the Flora of Ceylon’. We like to record our special thanks to Mr Peter J. Edwards, curator of Ferns at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. His advice, always given readily, amounted to the most invaluable support in completing the work on many taxa treated in this book. His selfless giving of his experience and his advice on additional helpful information to include in the text, were an inspiration of how scientific collaboration should be approached. Last, but by no means least, we wish to express our thanks to all the valuable assistant collectors in the field as they endured botanists’ whims, smoothed language problems and, in turn, exasperated and rescued us. W.D. CLAYTON MONIKA SHAFFER-FEHRE May 2006 lay F ancis & 0 Tay or &F ancis Group http://taylorandfrancis.com CONTENTS Foreword............................................................................................................................... v Acknowledgements................................................................................................... vii INTRODUCTION by M. Shaffer-Fehre and P.J. Edwards........................ xi KEY to the FERNS and FERN-ALLIES of SRI LANKA by P.J. Edwards.. xxi PART A 1. Aspleniaceae by D.Philcox......................................................................1 2. Azollaceae by Jennifer M. Ide.............................................................................36 3. Blechnaceae by P. Jayasekara ..........................................................................40 4. Cyatheaceae by D. Philcox...................................................................48 5. Davalliaceae by H. P. Nooteboom ...................................................................56 6. Dennstaedtiaceae by M. J. Zink...........................................................67 7. Dryopteridaceae by C. R. Fraser-Jenkins and M. J. Zink................. 100 8. Equisetaceae by B. Wadhwa............................................................................. 156 9. Gleicheniaceae by Monika Shaffer-Fehre .................................................. 171 10. Grammitidaceae by B. S. Parris ....................................................... 173 11. Hymenophyllaceae by P. Jayasekara......................................................... 176 12. Isoetaceae by B. Wadhwa.....................................................................................214 13. Lomariopsidaceae by M. J. Zink...........................................................236 14. Loxogrammaceae by M. G. Price .......................................................................238 15. Lycopodiaceae by D. Philcox.............................................................................249 16. Marattiaceae by DM. U.B. Dhanasekara ..........................................254 17. Marsileaceae by Jennifer M. Ide......................................................................271 18. Oleandraceae by B. Verdcourt ..........................................................275 19. Ophioglossaceae by D. Philcox ..........................................................284 20. Osmundaceae by P. Jayasekara..........................................................295 21. Parkeriacae by B. Wadhwa..................................................................................305 22. Polypodiaceae by P. H. Hovenkamp ..................................................308