Lecanopteris mirabilis

{{Short description|Species of plant}}

{{Speciesbox

| image = Lecanopteris mirabilis.jpg

| image_caption =

| genus = Lecanopteris

| species = mirabilis

| authority = Copel.

| synonyms =

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}}

Lecanopteris mirabilis is a species of tropical fern in the genus Lecanopteris native to Papua New Guinea and Sulawesi.{{cite POWO |id=17336421-1 |title=Lecanopteris mirabilis }} An epiphyte, its name means "wonderful" or "marvelous".{{Cite book |last=Quattrocchi |first=Umberto |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kaN-hLL-3qEC |title=CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names: Common Names, Scientific Names, Eponyms, Synonyms, and Etymology |date=1999-11-17 |publisher=CRC Press |isbn=978-0-8493-2677-6 |pages=1700 |language=en}} Like others of its genus, it grows from a large rhizome that in this case can be up to {{convert|25|cm}} in diameter.{{Cite web |title=CAUDICIFORM Lecanopteris mirabilis |url=http://www.bihrmann.com/caudiciforms/subs/lec-mir-sub.asp |access-date=2022-10-29 |website=www.bihrmann.com}} This rhizome forms a shelter for ants, making this a myrmecophyte, though unlike others of its genus the rhizome is flattened and doesn't contain hollow galleries.{{Cite book |last1=Lieth |first1=H. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZYR3NT7lldYC |title=Tropical Rain Forest Ecosystems: Biogeographical and Ecological Studies |last2=Werger |first2=M. J. A. |date=2012-12-02 |publisher=Elsevier |isbn=978-0-444-59649-9 |pages=267 |language=en}} Individual fronds may be up to {{convert|85|cm}} long.{{Cite journal |last=Walker |first=Trevor G. |date=1986 |title=The Ant-Fern, Lecanopteris mirabilis |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/4103115 |journal=Kew Bulletin |volume=41 |issue=3 |pages=533–545 |doi=10.2307/4103115 |jstor=4103115 |issn=0075-5974|url-access=subscription }}