《中国植物志》|| 紫萁科 OSMUNDACEAE ||紫萁属 Osmunda Linn. ||华南紫萁 Osmunda vachellii Hook.

9. 华南紫萁（中国主要植物图说，蕨类植物门）图版IV，5-6
Osmunda vachellii Hook. , Ic. Pl. (1837) t. 15; in London Journ. Bot. I (1842) 476; Diels in Engl. u. Prantl, Nat. Pflanzenfam. I, iv (1899) 379; C. Chr. Ind. Fil. (1905) 475. Tard. -Blot et C. Chr. in Fl. Indo-Chine VII, ii (1939) 31; 傅书遐, 中国主要植物图说 (蕨类植物门)(1957) 27育, 31图——Osmunda javanica Benth. , Fl. Hongk. (1861) 441, non Bl. 1828.
植株高达1米，坚强挺拔。根状茎直立，粗肥，成圆柱状的主轴。叶簇生于顶部；柄长20-40厘米，粗逾5毫米，棕禾稈色，略有光泽，坚硬；叶片长圆形，长40-90厘米，宽20-30厘米，一型，但羽片为二型，一回羽状；羽片15-20对，近对生，斜向上，相距2厘米，有短柄，以关节着生于叶轴上，长15-20厘米，宽1-1.5厘米，披针形或线状披针形，向两端渐变狭，长渐尖头，基部为狭楔形，下部的较长，向顶部稍短，顶生小羽片有柄，边缘遍体为全缘，或向顶端略为浅波状。叶脉粗健，两面明显，二回分歧，小脉平行，达于叶边，叶边稍向下卷。叶为厚纸质，两面光滑，略有光泽，干后绿色或黄绿色。下部数对（多达8对，通常3-4对）羽片为能育，生孢子囊，羽片紧缩为线形，宽仅4毫米，中肋两侧密生圆形的分开的孢子囊穗，深棕色。
本种为我国亚热带常见的植物。产香港、海南岛、两广、福建、贵州及云南南部。生草坡上和溪边荫处酸性土上，最耐火烧。也分布于印度、缅甸、越南。为美丽的庭园观赏植物，终冬不凋。

《Flora of China》|| Osmundaceae || Osmunda ||华南紫萁 Osmunda vachellii

5. Osmunda vachellii Hooker, Icon. Pl. 1: t. 15. 1836.

华南紫萁 hua nan zi qi

Rhizome erect, stout, woody. Fronds simple pinnate, with numerous rather distant pinnae, up to 1 m × 20-30 cm; pinnae 15-20 pairs, subopposite, ascending, ca. 2 cm apart; sterile pinnae linear-lanceolate, up to ca. 20 × 1-17 cm, base narrowly cuneate, shortly stalked, articulate to rachis, margin entire or slightly undulate, apex acuminate; veins free, 1 or 2 times branched; basal pinnae fertile, reduced to midrib with small lobes bearing sporangia, rarely with a few reduced sterile pinnae below fertile ones.

Hillsides, often by streams, sometimes in open sites, locally common; 100-1000 m. Chongqing, Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Hainan, Hunan, Jiangxi, Sichuan, Yunnan, Zhejiang [India, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam].

Osmunda vachellii is very attractive and appears like a Cycas. It can be confused with O. javanica, a similar fern common in countries further south. The latter has rather wider pinnae, up to 2-3 cm, with the base more broadly cuneate to rounded; also, the fertile pinnae are commonly near the middle of the fronds.