Greek pity ron, bran, scale, + gramme, line; the lower surface of the fronds is covered with a scurfy white or yellow powder, with the darker sporangia showing as lines along the veins.

Plants medium-sized, terrestrial. Rhizomes erect. Fronds medium-sized, clustered. Stipes brown to dark purple, glabrous except at base. Blades 1- to 3-pinnate, chartaceous to coriaceous, lower surfaces covered with yellow or white waxy powder (farina). Veins free. Sporangia along veins in distinct lines or scattered dots, obscured by farina. Indusia absent.

A genus of about seventeen species native to the American Tropics, Africa, and Madagascar. Represented in Hawai 'i by two naturalized species and one hybrid between them.

Pressing and slapping fronds of Pityrogramma against a T-shirt, dark paper, or on skin will leave an impression of the frond made by the waxy powder.

KEY TO THE SPECIES OF PITYROGRAMMA IN HAWAI'I

1. Abaxial surfaces of blades covered with powdery, deep golden yellow waxy
powder (farina) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1. P. austroamericana

1. Abaxial surfaces of blades covered with powdery, white waxy powder
(farina) ............................................ 2. P. calomelanos