Pleopeltis macrocarpa(Bory ex Willd.) Kaulf.

lanceleaf polypody

WFO wfo-0001108687 Accepted WFO 2026-06 8 photographs CC0 / CC BY / CC BY-SA

Plate 1 figs. a–h · 8 separate observations

Pleopeltis macrocarpa, photographed by Juan Carlos Caicedo Hernández
fig. a Juan Carlos Caicedo Hernández, CC BY 4.0 / 2022-04-29 / obs. 191904697
Pleopeltis macrocarpa, photographed by Tony Rebelo
fig. b Tony Rebelo, CC BY-SA 4.0 / obs. 183030332
Pleopeltis macrocarpa, photographed by Tim Kirsten
fig. c Tim Kirsten, CC0 1.0 / obs. 181800321
Pleopeltis macrocarpa, photographed by Tony Rebelo
fig. d Tony Rebelo, CC BY-SA 4.0 / obs. 181112876
Pleopeltis macrocarpa, photographed by Tony Rebelo
fig. e Tony Rebelo, CC BY-SA 4.0 / obs. 175801560
Pleopeltis macrocarpa, photographed by Tony Rebelo
fig. f Tony Rebelo, CC BY-SA 4.0 / obs. 175291437
Pleopeltis macrocarpa, photographed by Jeremy Gilmore
fig. g Jeremy Gilmore, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 175598315
Pleopeltis macrocarpa, photographed by Juan Carlos Caicedo Hernández
fig. h Juan Carlos Caicedo Hernández, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 165899333

Every figure is a research-grade observation under CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA, rehosted with the photographer’s name, the licence and the observation it came from. Photographs under a NonCommercial licence are excluded from this site and are never stored, which costs us a great many pictures and is not negotiable.

Native range 64 botanical countries

Regions where Pleopeltis macrocarpa is native: Angola, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Provinces, Comoros, DR Congo, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Free State, Guinea, Gulf of Guinea Is., Ivory Coast, Kenya, KwaZulu-Natal, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, Nigeria, Northern Provinces, Réunion, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Socotra, Somalia, St.Helena, Tanzania, Uganda, Zimbabwe, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, India, Sri Lanka, Mexico Central, Mexico Gulf, Mexico Northeast, Mexico Northwest, Mexico Southwest, Argentina Northeast, Argentina Northwest, Bolivia, Brazil North, Brazil Northeast, Brazil South, Brazil Southeast, Central American Pacific Is., Chile Central, Chile North, Chile South, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Haiti, Honduras, Juan Fernández Is., Nicaragua, Panamá, Peru, Puerto Rico, Uruguay, Venezuela AngolaBurundiCameroonCape ProvincesDR CongoEswatiniEthiopiaFree StateGuineaGulf of Guinea Is.Ivory CoastKenyaKwaZulu-NatalLesothoLiberiaMadagascarMalawiMozambiqueNigeriaNorthern ProvincesRwandaSierra LeoneSomaliaTanzaniaUgandaZimbabweSaudi ArabiaYemenIndiaSri LankaMexico CentralMexico GulfMexico NortheastMexico NorthwestMexico SouthwestArgentina NortheastArgentina NorthwestBoliviaBrazil NorthBrazil NortheastBrazil SouthBrazil SoutheastCentral American Pacific Is.Chile CentralChile NorthChile SouthColombiaCosta RicaCubaDominican RepublicEcuadorHaitiHondurasNicaraguaPanamáPeruPuerto RicoUruguayVenezuela ComorosRéunionSt.Helena
Native distribution of Pleopeltis macrocarpa, after Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants. Introduced, extinct and doubtful records are excluded, so this is where the plant is from, not everywhere it now grows. Regions too small to draw at this scale are marked with a dot.
RegionTDWG codeContinent
Angola ANG AFRICA
Burundi BUR
Cameroon CMN
Cape Provinces CPP
Comoros COM
DR Congo ZAI
Eswatini SWZ
Ethiopia ETH
Free State OFS
Guinea GUI
Gulf of Guinea Is. GGI
Ivory Coast IVO
Kenya KEN
KwaZulu-Natal NAT
Lesotho LES
Liberia LBR
Madagascar MDG
Malawi MLW
Mozambique MOZ
Nigeria NGA
Northern Provinces TVL
Réunion REU
Rwanda RWA
Sierra Leone SIE
Socotra SOC
Somalia SOM
St.Helena STH
Tanzania TAN
Uganda UGA
Zimbabwe ZIM
Argentina Northeast AGE SOUTHERN AMERICA
Argentina Northwest AGW
Bolivia BOL
Brazil North BZN
Brazil Northeast BZE
Brazil South BZS
Brazil Southeast BZL
Central American Pacific Is. CPI
Chile Central CLC
Chile North CLN
Chile South CLS
Colombia CLM
Costa Rica COS
Cuba CUB
Dominican Republic DOM
Ecuador ECU
Haiti HAI
Honduras HON
Juan Fernández Is. JNF
Nicaragua NIC
Panamá PAN
Peru PER
Puerto Rico PUE
Uruguay URU
Venezuela VEN
Mexico Central MXC NORTHERN AMERICA
Mexico Gulf MXG
Mexico Northeast MXE
Mexico Northwest MXN
Mexico Southwest MXS
Saudi Arabia SAU ASIA-TEMPERATE
Yemen YEM
India IND ASIA-TROPICAL
Sri Lanka SRL

Not drawn on the map: Socotra, Juan Fernández Is.. We hold no public-domain boundary for these regions, so they are listed rather than guessed at.

Region boundaries approximated from Natural Earth (public domain) and mapped to TDWG World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions (WGSRPD) level-3 botanical countries (Brummitt 2001). Indicative, not the official WGSRPD geometry.

Also published as 38 synonyms

A synonym is not an error. It is a record of botanists disagreeing, in print, about where this plant belongs. Each of these was somebody’s considered answer.

  • Drynaria compacta Fée
  • Drynaria lepidota (Willd. ex Schltdl.) Fée
  • Drynaria lepidotum Fée
  • Drynaria macrocarpa Fée
  • Drynaria moricandii Fée
  • Grammitis araucana Phil.
  • Grammitis robusta Phil.
  • Lepicystis lanceolata (L.) Diels
  • Lepicystis macrocarpa (Willd.) Paxton & Lindl.
  • Lepisorus macrocarpa (Willd.) Ching ex R.D.Dixit
  • Marginaria lanceolata (L.) Herter
  • Marginaria macrocarpa (Bory ex Willd.) B.K.Nayar & S.Kaur
  • Marginaria marginata Bory
  • Niphobolus lanceolatus (L.) Keyserl.
  • Niphobolus lanceolatus Keyserl.
  • Phlebodium lanceolatum J.Sm.
  • Phlebodium macrocarpum J.Sm.
  • Pleopeltis corcovadensis C.Presl
  • Pleopeltis ensifolia Carmich.
  • Pleopeltis helenae C.Presl
  • Pleopeltis kaulfussiana C.Presl
  • Pleopeltis lanceolata (L.) Kaulf.
  • Pleopeltis lanceolata (L.) C.Presl
  • Pleopeltis lepidota (Willd. ex Schltdl.) C.Presl

and 14 more.

Sourcesevery claim on this page

  1. World Flora Online Plant List. accepted name, authority, classification. CC0. Retrieved 2026-07-12.
  2. iNaturalist. photographs and flowering annotations, CC0 / CC BY / CC BY-SA only. per photograph. Retrieved 2026-06-27.
  3. USDA PLANTS Database. common name, checklist symbol POLA9. public domain. Retrieved 2026-07-13.
  4. Kew, World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP v16). native distribution by TDWG level-3 botanical country, and life form. CC BY 3.0. Retrieved 2026-06-04.

We publish what we can source and we say so when we cannot. This page has no care advice and no toxicity claim, because we do not yet have those from a source we can cite.