Dryopteris ningqiangensis Z. Y. Zuo & J. Q. Tang 2026, sp. nov.

Dryopteris ningqiangensis Z. Y. Zuo & J. Q. Tang sp. nov. Figs 1, 2 In Chinese 宁强鳞毛蕨 (níng qiáng lín máo jué). Type. China • Shaanxi: Ningqiang County, the Hanjiangyuan Scenic Area, 32°45'N, 106°13'E, elev. 1280 m, 30 Aug. 2024, Zuo 6775 (holotype, KUN!; isotypes: KUN!, CSH!, SDFS!, SDFS!). Diagnosis. Dryopteris ningqiangensis is similar to D. bissetiana and D. sacrosancta in overall shape but differs by the combination of the following characteristics: smaller frond size, partly deflexed black stipe scales on with slightly brown base, papyraceous lamina, remotely spaced pinnae, sori close to costa. Description. Plants terrestrial, evergreen, 13–46 cm tall. Frond caespitose. Rhizome erect or slightly ascending, clothed with dense scales. Scales linear-lanceolate, flat, spreading, base slightly brown, upper black. Stipe stramineous, ca. 4–17 cm, sparsely covered with scales, partly deflexed. Lamina papery, narrowly deltoid, widest at base, acuminate at apex, ca. 9–32 × 5–16 cm, binpinnate to tripinnate, with smaller scales on abaxial surface. Pinnae remotely spaced, 9–16 pairs, stalked, stalks ca. 0.3–1 cm, apex acuminate, basal 1–2 pairs opposite, upward alternate, basal pair largest, deltoid-lanceolate, up to 9 × 4 cm. Pinnules 5–14 pairs, margin serrate to pinnate, lanceolate to oblong, base symmetrical, apex obtuse, serrate; basal basiscopic pinnule of basal pinna largest, ca. 1–4 × 0.4–1.7 cm, widest at base, 2 - pinnate. Rachis and costa clothed with linear lanceolate scales and bullate scales. Veins pinnate, veinlets simple or forked, visible abaxially. Sori close to costule, in 1 row on either side of costule. Indusia brown, reniform, margins entire. Reproductive mode and ploidy level: triploid apogamous. Ecology and geographical distribution. Dryopteris ningqiangensis was presently only known from Ningqiang County, Shaanxi Province, China. It was found growing mostly on shaded cliffs and sometimes on the foot of rocks in mountain forests at an elevation of 1100–1400 m. Etymology. The epithet is taken from Chinese Pinyin “ningqiang”, the name of the county in western Shaanxi Province, located at the junction of the Qinling and Bashan Mountains.