Sticherus hypoleucus (Sodiro) Copeland (1947: 28)

Gonzales, Jasivia & Kessler, Michael, 2011, A synopsis of the Neotropical species of Sticherus (Gleicheniaceae), with descriptions of nine new species, Phytotaxa 31, pp. 1-54 : 28

Sticherus hypoleucus (Sodiro) Copeland (1947: 28)

Gleichenia hypoleuca Sodiro (1883: 8) . Type : — ECUADOR. Pichincha, Sodiro.n. (lectotype SI!, designated by Moran (1995: 60), isolectotype K!).

Gleichenia lehmannii Hieronymus (1905: 562) . Dicranopteris lehmannii (Hieron.) Maxon (1930: 83) . Sticherus lehmannii (Hieron.) Nakai (1950: 21) . Type : — COLOMBIA. Popayán, Lehmann 6963 (holotype expected to be at B but not located, isotype US!).

Gleichenia nitidula Rosenstock (1912: 275) . Dicranopteris nitidula (Rosenst.) Suess. ex Losch (1950: 24) . Sticherus nitidulus (Rosenst.) Copeland (1947: 28). Type: — COSTA RICA. Alajuela: San Carlos-Buena Vista, Brade 503 ( holotype S!, isotypes UC!, US!) .

Distribution and ecology: —Mountains of Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru; perhaps also in Guyana. Commonly found at (500–) 800–2500 m in montane forests on sandy or rocky surfaces, and along roadbanks. It grows solitarily or in small colonies.

Notes: —Some specimens from Guyana (Cuyuni-Mazaruni, Pakaraima Mts., 5°23’N, 59°58’W, 1500– 1650 m, 1 November, 1992, Heckel 77, NY, US) and Colombia (Chocó, Bolívar–Quibdo hwy., 5°40’N, 76°30’W, Km 134.5, 1070 m, 13 April 1983, Juncosa 931, MO, US) are similar to S. hypoleucus , but have scaly abaxial branch surfaces and whitish, forked midvein scales. Forked midvein scales are found only in S. strictissimus , and it is conceivable that these atypical specimens are hybrids between S. hypoleucus and S. strictissimus .

Østergaard & Øllgaard (2001) considered that a specimen from Ecuador (Morona-Santiago: Road Susana de Chiviasa–Panecillo, Km 3–4 (NE of Limón), 1300 m, Øllgaard & Navarrete 2699, AAU) may be a hybrid between S. hypoleucus and S. remotus based on its morphological intermediacy between these species.