Colysis elliptica (Thunb.) Ching

Japanese: イワヒトデ（英語表記）Colysis elliptica (Thunb.) Ching

An evergreen perennial fern of the Polypodiaceae family found on rocks in warm regions (illustration). The shape of the leaves resembles a starfish, hence the name. The rhizome is about 3 mm in diameter, creeps long, and forms colonies with sparse leaves. The leaves are slightly dimorphic, and the spore-bearing leaves grow tall, reaching a length of 50 cm together with the petiole. The leaf surface is yellowish-green, simple-pinnate compound, with 3-5 pairs of lateral pinnae and an almost identically shaped terminal pinnae. The veins are not easily visible from the surface, but are connected in a net-like pattern, with irregular free veins within the net.

Source: Heibonsha World Encyclopedia, 2nd Edition Information

Japanese:

暖地の岩上に見られるウラボシ科の常緑多年生シダ植物（イラスト）。葉の形の印象がヒトデを思わせ，この名がある。根茎は径3mmほどで，長くはい，まばらに葉を出して群落をつくる。葉はやや2形になり，胞子をつける葉は高く伸びて，葉柄とともに長さ50cmに達する。葉面は黄緑色，単羽状複生，3～5対の側羽片と，ほぼ同形の頂羽片がある。葉脈は表面からはよく見えないが，網状に結合し，網目内には不規則な遊離脈がある。

出典　株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典第２版について　情報

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