Flora of North America species comparison

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Cheilanthes covillei

Cheilanthes gracillima

Coville's lip fern

lace fern, lace lipfern
Stems

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.

short-creeping, 4–8 mm diam.;

scales uniformly brown or with poorly defined, dark, central stripe, linear-lanceolate, straight to slightly contorted, loosely appressed, persistent.
Leaves

clustered, 5–30 cm;

vernation noncircinate.

clustered, 5–25 cm;

vernation noncircinate.
Petiole

dark brown, rounded adaxially.

dark brown, rounded adaxially.
Blade

lanceolate to ovate-deltate, 3–4-pinnate at base, 1.5–5 cm wide;

rachis rounded adaxially, somewhat scaly, not pubescent.

linear-oblong, 2–3-pinnate at base, 1–2.5 cm wide;

rachis rounded adaxially, with scattered linear scales, not pubescent.
Ultimate segments

round to oblong, beadlike, the largest 1–3 mm, abaxially glabrous or with a few small scales near base, adaxially glabrous.

oblong or rarely oval, beadlike, the largest 1.5–3 mm, abaxially densely covered with branched hairs and small, ciliate scales, adaxially with scattered, branched hairs or glabrescent.
Pinnae

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.

not articulate, dark color of stalk continuing into pinna base, basal pair not conspicuously larger than adjacent pair, usually equilateral, appearing sparsely pubescent or glabrous adaxially.
False indusia

marginal, weakly differentiated, 0.05–0.25 mm wide.

marginal, slightly differentiated, 0.05–0.25 mm wide.
Sori

± continuous around segment margins.

± continuous around segment margins.
Sporangia

containing 64 spores.

containing 64 spores.
Costae

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.

green adaxially for most of length;

abaxial scales multiseriate, linear, truncate at base, inconspicuous, the largest 0.1–0.4 mm wide, loosely imbricate, not concealing ultimate segments, long-ciliate, cilia usually confined to base.
2n

= 60.

Cheilanthes covillei

Cheilanthes gracillima
Phenology Sporulating late spring–fall. Sporulating summer–fall.
Habitat Rocky slopes, cliffs, and ledges, usually on igneous substrates Cliffs and rocky slopes, usually on igneous substrates
Elevation 100–2500 m (300–8200 ft) 800–3000 m (2600–9800 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
AZ; CA; NV; UT; Mexico in Baja California
[WildflowerSearch map]
from FNA
CA; ID; MT; NV; OR; UT; WA; AB; BC
[WildflowerSearch map]
Discussion

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.)

Cheilanthes gracillima is a well-marked species, but it apparently hybridizes with C. intertexta (see reticulogram) to produce plants of intermediate morphology with malformed spores that have been called C. gracillima var. aberrans M. E. Jones (A. R. Smith 1974).

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 2. FNA vol. 2.
Parent taxa Pteridaceae > Cheilanthes Pteridaceae > Cheilanthes
Sibling taxa
C. aemula, C. alabamensis, C. arizonica, C. bonariensis, C. clevelandii, C. cooperae, C. eatonii, C. feei, C. fendleri, C. gracillima, C. horridula, C. intertexta, C. kaulfussii, C. lanosa, C. lendigera, C. leucopoda, C. lindheimeri, C. microphylla, C. newberryi, C. parryi, C. pringlei, C. tomentosa, C. villosa, C. viscida, C. wootonii, C. wrightii, C. yavapensis
C. aemula, C. alabamensis, C. arizonica, C. bonariensis, C. clevelandii, C. cooperae, C. covillei, C. eatonii, C. feei, C. fendleri, C. horridula, C. intertexta, C. kaulfussii, C. lanosa, C. lendigera, C. leucopoda, C. lindheimeri, C. microphylla, C. newberryi, C. parryi, C. pringlei, C. tomentosa, C. villosa, C. viscida, C. wootonii, C. wrightii, C. yavapensis
Synonyms Myriopteris covillei Myriopteris gracillima
Name authority Maxon: Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash. 31: 147. (1918) D. C. Eaton: in Emory, Rep. U.S. Mex. Bound. 2: 234. (1859)
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).



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