Schizaea elegans (Vahl) Sw.

Schizaea flabellum Mart. Ic. Crypt. Bras. 115. 1834
? Lophidium Flabellum Presl, Abh. Bohm. Ges. Wiss. V, 4 : 337. 1845. Rhizome ascending or horizontal, closely covered with yellowish-brown hairs ; fronds several, fasciculate, 25-70 cm. long, rigidly erect ; stipes stoutish, obtusely angled, sulcate and brownish in the lower part, lighter and marginate above ; lamina abruptly expanded, broadly obdeltoid or suborbicular in outline, 10-20 cm. long, 15-30 cm. broad, 2-6 times dichotomously cleft or incised, the divisions variable, linear-oblong or linear to narrowly obdeltoid, pluricostate, the apices deeply and usually irregularly fimbriate-dentate or sharply lacerate by the production of the prominent costae ; sporangiophores numerous, terminal upon many of the elongate costae, recurved, conduplicate or with age diffuse, 6-10 mm. long; fertile segments 10-15 pairs, slender, the lower ones 2.5-5 mm. long, the upper ones gradually shorter, obtuse, conspicuously pilose upon the costa and margins ; spores delicately and minutely verrucose.
Type locality : Trinidad.
Distribution; Southern Mexico and Central America; Jamaica; Santo Domingo (rare); also in South America.

Lophidium elegans (Vahl) Presl, Abh. Bohm. Ges
Wiss. V. 4 : 337. 1845.
Acrostichutn elegans Vahl, Symb. 2 : 104. 1791.
Lophidium latifolium Rich. Act. Soc. Hist. Nat. Paris 1 : 114. 1792.
Schizaea elegans Smith, M€m. Acad. Turin 5 : 419. 1793.