Cheilanthes alabamensis
Cheilanthes covillei
Alabama lip fern
Coville's lip fern
short-creeping to compact, 3–7 mm diam.;
scales uniformly brown or slightly darker at base, linear-lanceolate, straight to slightly contorted, loosely appressed, persistent.
short-creeping, usually 2–4 mm diam.;
scales usually uniformly dark brown to black or rarely with narrow, light brown margins, linear-lanceolate, straight to slightly contorted, strongly appressed, persistent.
clustered, 6–50 cm;
vernation noncircinate.
clustered, 5–30 cm;
vernation noncircinate.
black, rounded adaxially.
dark brown, rounded adaxially.
lanceolate to linear-oblong, 2-pinnate to 2-pinnate-pinnatifid at base, 1–7 cm wide;
rachis rounded adaxially, lacking scales, with dimorphic pubescence, abaxially sparsely hirsute, adaxially covered with tortuous, appressed hairs.
lanceolate to ovate-deltate, 3–4-pinnate at base, 1.5–5 cm wide;
rachis rounded adaxially, somewhat scaly, not pubescent.
narrowly elliptic to elongate-deltate, not beadlike, the largest 3–7 mm, abaxially and adaxially sparsely hirsute to glabrescent.
round to oblong, beadlike, the largest 1–3 mm, abaxially glabrous or with a few small scales near base, adaxially glabrous.
not articulate, dark color of stalk continuing into pinna base, basal pair slightly smaller than adjacent pair, ± equilateral, appearing glabrous or sparsely pubescent adaxially.
not articulate, dark color of stalk continuing into pinna base, basal pair not conspicuously larger than adjacent pair, usually equilateral, appearing glabrous (or somewhat scaly) adaxially.
marginal to obscurely inframarginal, somewhat differentiated, 0.1–0.4 mm wide.
marginal, weakly differentiated, 0.05–0.25 mm wide.
± continuous around segment margins.
± continuous around segment margins.
containing 32 spores.
containing 64 spores.
green adaxially for most of length;
abaxial scales absent.
green adaxially for most of length;
abaxial scales multiseriate, ovate-lanceolate, deeply cordate at base, with overlapping basal lobes, conspicuous, the largest 0.4–1.5 mm wide, strongly imbricate, usually concealing ultimate segments, ciliate only on basal lobes.
= 2n = 87, apogamous.
= 60.
Cheilanthes alabamensis
Cheilanthes covillei
Plants of Cheilanthes alabamensis occurring in the flora are apogamous triploids; a sexual diploid cytotype has been found in Nuevo León, Mexico (M. D. Windham, unpublished). Given the high degree of morphologic similarity between the two cytotypes, the North American triploid probably was derived from the Mexican diploid through autopolyploidy. In the flora, Cheilanthes alabamensis is most often confused with C. microphylla, from which it is distinguished by having thicker stems, mostly green costae, and 32-spored sporangia.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Cheilanthes covillei can be difficult to distinguish from the closely related C. intertexta and C. clevelandii; it differs from these two species in having glabrous blades and costal scales ciliate only on the basal lobes. Cheilanthes covillei is occasionally misidentified as C. fendleri because the cilia of the scales are often obscure; it is distinguished from the latter species by having rigid, dark brown stem scales that are strongly appressed. Cheilanthes covillei hybridizes with C. parryi and C. newberryi to form rare, sterile diploids known as C. × parishii Davenport and C. × fibrillosa (Davenport) Davenport ex Underwood, respectively. A third sterile diploid hybrid with C. fendleri has recently been discovered in central Arizona (M. D. Windham, unpublished).
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
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