Sticherus strictissimus (Christ) Copeland (1947: 28)

Gleichenia strictissima Christ (1905a: 13). Dicranopteris strictissima (Christ) Underwood (1907: 261).

Type: — COSTA RICA. Wercklé 215 (holotype P, isotype US).

Gleichenia glaucina Christ (1906: 6). Type: — COSTA RICA. La Palma, Wercklé s.n. (not located).

Distribution and ecology:— Mountains of Guatemala, Costa Rica, Colombia, Venezuela, and Ecuador. It is locally common in Costa Rica and Ecuador, but apparently rare elsewhere; grows in disturbed habitats in humid montane forests at 1400–2400 m.

Notes:— Sticherus stictissimus has usually been considered to be conspecific with S. rubiginosus and was thought to be just a dwarf form of that species. In fact, Østergaard & Øllgaard (2001) believed that S. strictissimus and Gleichenia salesiana (see under doubtful names) represented precociously fertile specimens of S. rubiginosus. However, in addition to size, S. strictissimus also differs from S. rubiginosus by having shorter segments with pointed apices, less densely scaly rhizomes, simple to forked, thick, whitish filamentous scales on the midveins, obscure veinlets with thick, whitish filamentous scales, and abundant papillae on segment surfaces. Based on all these differences, it seems best to consider both entities as distinct species.