About Hypolepis rugosula subsp. rufobarbata (Colenso) Schwartsb.
This taxon, Hypolepis rugosula subsp. rufobarbata (Colenso) Schwartsb., can be identified by several key features: its main axes (petioles, rachises, and pinna-rachises) are burgundy in color, it has a red/brown stipe, the petiole vascular bundles are pi-shaped and split into two S-shaped bundles toward the distal end, and it has no soral hairs. Hypolepis rugosula most often grows in stream beds, damp gullies, drainage ditches, swampy ground, forest clearings, forest margins, and open areas. It can grow on soil as well as rocky substrates. While it typically forms only small patches, it can grow into large, extensive stands in freshly disturbed soil. It occurs more frequently at higher altitudes.
