Synonym(s): Vittaria elongata Sw.; Haplopteris zosterifolia sensu auct., non (Willd.) E. H. Crane; Vittaria rigida Kaulf.; V. zosterifolia sensu auct., non Willd.
Common names: ohe'ohe, mana (P. & E.)
Indigenous '
Latin elongatus, long, prolonged, in reference to the long, narrow fronds.
Plants strap like. Stipes closely set, winged, without clear distinction between stipes and blades. Blades erect when short, pendulous when longer, long, linear, 3-50 x 0.2-0.6 cm, leathery, glabrous, entire, tips acuminate, gradually tapering below, midribs indistinct. Veins obscure. Sori in deep marginal grooves flanked by equal-sized lips, cone-shaped, funnelform paraphyses plentiful.
Epiphytic or epipetric fern in mesic to wet forests, 20-900 m, all major islands. In wet forests, terrestrial or epiphytic; in drier forests it frequently grows on rhizomes under nests of fronds of the bird's-nest fern (Asplenium nidus), with the pendent fronds resembling aerial roots. Widespread throughout Polynesia, Malaysia, Australia, India, and tropical Africa.
Recognized as V. rigida Kaulf. or Vittaria zosterifolia Willd. in some previous publications and checklists. Further study including examination of type specimens may be needed to verify its correct specific name.
Clustered, long, narrow, pendent, strap-like blades and long, linear, marginal sori make Haplopteris elongata unique among Hawaiian ferns.