Cheilanthes covillei
Cheilanthes lendigera
Coville's lip fern
beaded lip fern, nitbearing lipfern
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.
long-creeping, 1–3 mm diam.;
scales uniformly brown or with poorly defined, dark, central stripe, linear-lanceolate, straight to slightly contorted, loosely appressed, usually persistent.
clustered, 5–30 cm;
vernation noncircinate.
scattered to clustered, 5–30 cm;
vernation noncircinate.
dark brown, rounded adaxially.
usually dark brown, rounded adaxially.
lanceolate to ovate-deltate, 3–4-pinnate at base, 1.5–5 cm wide;
rachis rounded adaxially, somewhat scaly, not pubescent.
ovate-deltate to oblong-lanceolate, usually 4-pinnate at base, 1.5–8 cm wide;
rachis rounded adaxially, with scattered linear scales and dense monomorphic pubescence.
round to oblong, beadlike, the largest 1–3 mm, abaxially glabrous or with a few small scales near base, adaxially glabrous.
round to slightly oblong, beadlike, the largest 1–3 mm, abaxially sparsely to moderately pubescent with coarse hairs, adaxially glabrous.
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 glabrous or sparsely pubescent adaxially.
marginal, weakly differentiated, 0.05–0.25 mm wide.
inframarginal, strongly differentiated, 0.25–0.5 mm wide, forming pouch with constricted aperture on abaxial surface of ultimate segments.
± continuous around segment margins.
± continuous around segment margins.
containing 64 spores.
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 uniseriate and hairlike.
= 60.
= 120.
Cheilanthes covillei
Cheilanthes lendigera
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 lendigera has the small, beadlike ultimate segments characteristic of subgenus Physapteris; the prominent inframarginal false indusia and near absence of multiseriate costal scales serve to distinguish it from all other North American members of that group. T. Reeves (1979) suggested that C. lendigera is a fertile allotetraploid resulting from hybridization between the Mexican species Cheilanthes mexicana Davenport and C. marsupianthes (Fée) T. Reeves ex Windham (unpublished).
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
CA
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Flora NW
PNW Herbaria
WildflowerSearch
iNaturalist
USDA Plants Database
