Morphology
Danaea kalevala
- Large ferns to 2m tall, leaves arching and rhizomes massive, in habit distantly resembling a small palm.
- Rhizomes creeping, dorsiventral, with several rows of leaves arranged almost radially but the roots only on the ventral side, 30cm long, 10cm high, 10-16cm wide at apex when fresh, 6-10cm wide when dry
- Stipules 4cm wide, fleshy, bearing many scales; leaves imparipinnate, elliptic-lanceolate
- Sterile leaves up to 160cm long, petioles c. 30cm long, without nodes rachises narrowly to not winged
- Blades 64-90 x 50-60cm, slightly iridescent blue-green in young plants, dark green in mature ones, with 13-16 pinna pairs
- Largest lateral pinnae (ob-)lanceolate, 6.8-8 times longer than wide, 21-35 x 3.1-4.4 cm, widest at or above the middle, apices gradually long-acuminate, bases acute to cuneate, margins entire, finely sinuate to finely serrulate-denticulate at apex; terminal pinnae present, conform the lateral ones, ovate-lanceolate, 17-23 x 3-4 cm, widest below the middle, bases acute, apices long-acuminate, sinuate-denticulate at the margin
- Veins mostly simple or paired at base, also a few forked ones, about 12-14 veins per cm
- Fertile leaves at least 150 cm long, petioles without nodes, rachises winged, blade size unknown since all herbarium samples are fragmentary, but at least bearing more than 12 lateral pinna pairs, largest lateral pinnae linear-lanceolate, 13-15 x 1.4-2cm, apices acuminate, sinuate, bases oblique cordulate, terminal pinnae present, linear-lanceolate, 12 x 1.4cm, apex acuminate, base acute
- Juveniles not known