Synonym(s): Asplenium adiantoides (L.) C. Chr.; A. caudatum sensu auct., non G. Forst.; A. caudatum G. Forst. var. sectum Hillebr.; A. cookii Cope!.; A. falcatum sensu auct., non Lam.; A. falcatum f. auriculatum Skottsb.; A. falcatum f. cookii (Cope!.) Skottsb.; A. falcatum var. nitidulum Skottsb.; A. falcatum f. persectum Skottsb.; A.falcatum var. sectum Hillebr.; A. falcatum subsp. subcaudatum Skottsb.; A. nitidulum Hillebr.; Tarachia polyodon (G. Forst.) C. Pres!; Trichomanes adiantoides L. [A. jlorentinum W. H. Wagner in un-published checklists]

Common names: punana manu (punana, nest, manu, bird) (P. & E.) (This name may not be correctly applied, but no other Hawaiian name is known.)

Indigenous

Greek polys, many, + odon, tooth, prob-ably alluding to the dentate margins of the pinnae.

Plants medium-sized, usually terrestrial. Rhizomes long-creeping, 0.8-1.5 cm diam., heavily covered with dark brown, glossy, lanceolate scales with curly, sometimes hairlike tips. Fronds 22-130 x 4.5-25 em, never proliferous, usually about 1 cm distant. Stipes dark brown, moderately scaly or naked. Blades variable, 1-pinnate to 1-pinnate-pinnatisect or occasionally fully 2-pinnate in larger fronds; lanceolate with I to several basal pinnae gradually reduced; both surfaces often glossy, dark green, subcoriaceous, tips pinnatifid, acute; rachises and costae grooved. Pinnae 15-40 pairs, short -stalked, alternate, not or only slightly falcate; entire or shallowly to deeply lobed, some basal pinnae cut to costae (making frond 2-pinnate), larger pinnae deeply cut into lobes pointing outward at 35° from costae, nar-rower at bases, wider in middle, smaller distally, distal pinnae not deeply cut, margins on all pinnae dentate, with small, obtuse teeth pointing outward at about 45° angle from midribs. Ultimate segments with acroscopic basal lobe often nearly separate, sometimes somewhat fan-shaped without a central axis, margins on sides entire, tips rounded, dentate. Veins forking 1-4 times, proximally nearly parallel to costae, distally curving away from costae, ending in marginal teeth, translucent. Sori of various sizes on same pinna, divergent from costae, those arising near costae longest, curved following the veins, usually reaching 1/2 to over 2/3 or more to margins, 2-5 on ultimate seg-ments. Indusia thin, narrow, lighter color than pinnae, acute at both ends.

Common in mesic to wet forests, 600-2,000 m, all major islands.

An unusually variable species with fronds varying from 1-pinnate to almost fully 2-pinnate. A form with thick, short, somewhat obtuse pinnae is found on East Maui and may represent a separate species. Smaller forms of this species have long, narrow, somewhat acute pinnae, sori quite parallel with the costae, and pinnae that are not deeply cut, and very much resemble Asplenium contiguum. See A. contiguum for a discussion of the problem of the relationship between these two taxa.

Some variants of A. polyodon have a few fan-shaped lobes or ultimate segments and may resemble A. aethiopicum, but this character is much more apparent in A. aethiopicum. The veins of A. polyodon are quite translu-cent; those of A. aethiopicum, although still somewhat translucent, are considerably more obscure.

This species is part of a very polymorphic aggregate widespread in the Pacific and South-east Asia. In other parts of its distribution, varietal names have been applied to its various forms, and a study of this taxon in Hawai 'i may well reveal endemic taxa that can be sep-arated. Many names (most commonly A. cookii and A. falcatum) have been used in synon-ymy for this taxon. Some authors assumed this to be an endemic species. It is here rec-ognized as native but not endemic, but a thorough study may prove otherwise.

Asplenium polyodon may be recognized by its 1-to 2-pinnate blades, lack of plant-lets on the rachises and stipes, and sori of various lengths on the same pinna arising near the midrib and usually extending 2/3 of the distance to the margin.