Haplopteris elongata

Haplopteris elongata (Sw.) E. H. Crane, Syst. Bot. 22(3): 514 1997. (Syn: Oetosis elongata (Sw.) E. L. Greene; Pteris graminifolia Roxb. ex Griff.; Vittaria anodontolepis Fée; Vittaria blumei Hieron.; Vittaria boninensis Christ; Vittaria elongata Sw.; Vittaria elongata var. angustifolia Holtt. ex N.P.Balakr.; Vittaria elongata var. latifolia Holtt.; Vittaria elongata var. merrillii (Christ) Tardieu & C. Chr.; Vittaria formosana Nakai; Vittaria hildebrandtii Hieron.; Vittaria merrillii Christ; Vittaria ogasawarensis Kodama; Vittaria pauciareolata Ching; Vittaria planipes Kze.; Vittaria stuhlmannii Hieron.; Vittaria tortifrons Hayata);
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Kenya to Mozambique and Pacific: Andaman Is., Assam, Bangladesh, Bismarck Archipelago, Borneo, Cambodia, Caroline Is., China South-Central, China Southeast, Christmas I., Comoros, Cook Is., East Himalaya, Fiji, Hainan, India, Kazan-retto, Kenya, Laos, Lesser Sunda Is., Madagascar, Malaya, Maluku, Marquesas, Mozambique, Myanmar, New Caledonia, New Guinea, New South Wales, Norfolk Is., Ogasawara-shoto, Philippines, Queensland, Santa Cruz Is., Seychelles, Society Is., Solomon Is., Sri Lanka, Sulawesi, Sumatera, Tanzania, Thailand, Tibet, Tubuai Is., Vanuatu, Vietnam as POWO;

Australia (NE-Queensland, SE-Queensland, NE-New South Wales, Christmas Isl. (Austr.)), Society Isl. (Tahiti, Bora Bora, Tahaa, Huahine), Fiji (Viti Levu, Vanua Levu, Kadavu, Gau, Koro, Ovalau, Taveuni, Waya), Rotuma Isl., Norfolk Isl., New Caledonia, Bonin Isl. (Chichijima, Hahajima), Volcano Isl. (Kita-Iwojima, Minami-Iwojima), Cook Isl., Austral Isl. (Tubuai, Rurutu, Raivavae, Rapa Iti), Marquesas Isl. (Nuku Hiva, Ua Pou, Hiva Oa, Fatu Hiva), Mozambique, Tanzania, Kenya, Madagascar, Comores (Mayotte, etc.), Pemba Isl., Seychelles, Singapore, New Guinea, Bismarck Arch., Borneo (Mt. Kinabalu, etc.), Moluccas (Seram), Sulawesi, Sumatra, India (mountainous regions, Arunachal Pradesh, Darjeeling, etc.), Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Myanmar [Burma], Vietnam, Laos, Philippines, Andaman Isl., peninsular Malaysia (north of Malaya), Thailand (widespread), Lesser Sunda Isl. (Lombok, Sumba, Bali, Flores, Sumbawa, Alor, Timor), Cambodia, Solomon Isl. (Guadalcanal, Kolombangara, New Georgia, Rendova, Vangunu, Vella Lavella, Makira, Malaita), China (Fujian, Hainan, Guangdong, Guangxi, S-Yunnan), SE-Tibet as per Catalogue of Life; 

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Epiphytic herb, hanging. Rhizome short creeping, up to 3 mm thick, branched, densely clothed by scales all over; scales lanceolate, about 5 x 0.25 mm, uniformly dark, uniformly thickened, margin sparsely dentate, apex long acuminate, gland tipped. Fronds about 2 mm apart, simple, up to 50 x 0.8 cm, linear-oblong lanceolate, progressively narrowing towards the base and apex, basal part with 1-1.5 cm long flattened stipe-like portion, apex acuminate, margin entire, midrib distinct, slightly raised and pale green below, raised above; veins slightly distinct above and below, oblique; fronds dark green; texture chartaceous, flexuous. Sori marginal, up to 1 mm wide, groove extrorse when young, erect when mature, paraphyses with terminal cell twice as long as wide, spores monolete, ellipsoid, planoconvex or reniform, 60 x 35 um, plae yellowish-green.

(Attributions- K. P. Rajesh from India Biodiversity Portal)

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ID KANNUR 4 : 3 posts by 2 authors. Attachments (1)- 3 MB.
Please identify this plant from a sacred grove of Kannur, Kerala. Isn’t it an angiosperm?

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There is no close-up showing the rhizome – so it can’t be seen properly.  But I assume it is Vittaria (Haplopteris) elongata (a pteridophyte) – which should have brown sori at the edge.  Soak it out in a bucket of water for 24 hours, as Vittaria’s can’t be identified when all rolled up [“Vittaria rolypolyana” ined.!], then press it with some rhizome, and photograph it again, closer-up.

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References:
Catalogue of Life  POWO  The Plant List Ver.1.1 (syn. of Vittaria elongata Sw.)  Tropicos  IPNI  Flora of China  FOC illustration  India Biodiversity Portal  Wikipedia  Ferns of Thailand, Laos and Cambodia  Ferns and Lycophytes of the World  Herbarium JCB – IISc