Flora of North America species comparison

The green links below add additional plants to the comparison table. Blue links lead to other Web sites.
enable glossary links

Argyrochosma dealbata

Argyrochosma fendleri

powdery false cloak fern

Fendler's false cloak fern
Stem

scales brown.

scales brown.
Leaves

3–15 cm.

5–25 cm.
Petiole

chestnut brown, 0.50–0.75 mm diam.

dark brown, 0.75–1.5 mm diam.
Blade

deltate, 3–5-pinnate proximally, somewhat herbaceous, abaxially covered by whitish farina, adaxially glabrous or sparsely glandular;

rachis rounded to slightly flattened adaxially.

deltate, 4–6-pinnate proximally, leathery to somewhat herbaceous, abaxially covered by whitish farina, adaxially glabrous or glandular;

rachis rounded adaxially.
Ultimate segments

not articulate, dark color of stalks continuing into segment bases abaxially;

segment margins recurved, often partially concealing sporangia;

veins often visible adaxially.

not articulate, dark color of stalks continuing into segment bases abaxially;

segment margins plane to recurved, often partially concealing sporangia;

veins usually obscure adaxially.
Sporangia

submarginal, borne on distal 1/3 of secondary veins, containing 64 spores.

submarginal, borne on distal 1/4 of secondary veins, containing 64 spores.
Pinna

costae straight or nearly so, branches not arising from prominent angles.

costae distinctly flexuous, branches arising from prominent angles.
2n

= 54.

= 54.

Argyrochosma dealbata

Argyrochosma fendleri
Phenology Sporulating summer–fall. Sporulating summer–fall.
Habitat Calcareous cliffs and ledges Rocky slopes and cliffs, usually on granitic or volcanic substrates
Elevation 100–600 m (300–2000 ft) 1700–3000 m (5600–9800 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
AR; IL; KS; KY; MO; NE; OK; TX
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
CO; NM; WY; Mexico in Sonora
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

The distinctions between Argyrochosma dealbata and A. limitanea are subtle but apparently absolute. Although both occur in Texas, their ranges do not overlap. Despite the morphologic similarities, isozyme analyses indicate that A. dealbata, a diploid species, was not involved in the origin of polyploid A. limitanea.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Argyrochosma fendleri is occasionally confused with A. limitanea, which can have slightly flexuous rachises and pinna costae. All A. limitanea specimens with slightly flexuous rachises and costae have 32 spores per sporangium, whereas specimens of A. fendleri consistently have 64. This southern Rocky Mountain species is the only member of the genus that is found on acidic substrates such as granite.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 2. FNA vol. 2.
Parent taxa Pteridaceae > Argyrochosma Pteridaceae > Argyrochosma
Sibling taxa
A. fendleri, A. incana, A. jonesii, A. limitanea, A. microphylla
A. dealbata, A. incana, A. jonesii, A. limitanea, A. microphylla
Synonyms Cheilanthes dealbata, Notholaena dealbata, Pellaea dealbata Notholaena fendleri, Cheilanthes cancellata, Pellaea fendleri
Name authority (Pursh) Windham: Amer. Fern J. 77: 40. (1987) (Kunze) Windham: Amer. Fern J. 77: 40. (1987)
Web links 
Unless otherwise noted, all data comes from the online version of the Flora of North America, who have made most of their content available via a Creative Commons license (CC BY 4.0).



Type/paste one or more Latin names into the boxes above; matching taxa will show up below the box as you type. You can use the up/down arrow keys to move through the list.

(If the plant you're looking for doesn't show up in the auto-complete list, that means it either isn't described in Flora of North America yet, or it's listed under a synonym. And please note that Flora of North America is still missing several plant families, including Fabaceae, Apiaceae, Boraginaceae, and Polemoniaceae.)

Choose a data source: Flora of North America

The species comparison tool is brought to you by:
Northwest Wildflowers