Flora of North America species comparison

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Cheilanthes feei

Cheilanthes kaulfussii

slender lip fern

glandular lip fern
Stems

compact to short-creeping, usually 4–8 mm diam.;

scales often uniformly brown but at least some on each plant with well-defined, dark, central stripe, linear-lanceolate, slightly contorted, loosely appressed, persistent.

short-creeping, usually 4–8 mm diam.;

scales uniformly black or with narrow brown margins, linear-subulate, straight to slightly contorted, strongly appressed, persistent.
Leaves

clustered, 4–20 cm;

vernation circinate.

clustered, 8–35 cm;

vernation circinate.
Petiole

dark brown to black, rounded adaxially.

dark brown, flattened or slightly grooved distally on adaxial surface.
Blade

linear-oblong to lanceolate, 3-pinnate at base, 1–3 cm wide;

rachis rounded adaxially, lacking scales, with dense monomorphic pubescence.

elongate-pentagonal, 3-pinnate-pinnatifid to 4-pinnate at base, 3–10 cm wide;

rachis grooved adaxially, lacking scales, with monomorphic pubescence.
Ultimate segments

round to slightly oblong, beadlike, the largest 1–3 mm, abaxially densely villous with long, segmented hairs, adaxially sparsely hirsute to glabrescent.

linear-oblong, not especially beadlike, largest 3–8 mm, abaxially and adaxially glandular pubescent with short, sticky, capitate glands.
Pinnae

not articulate, dark color of stalk continuing into pinna base, basal pair usually smaller than adjacent pair, ± equilateral, appearing sparsely pubescent to glabrescent adaxially.

not articulate, dark color of stalk continuing into pinna base, basal pair larger than adjacent pair, strongly inequilateral, proximal basiscopic pinnules greatly enlarged, appearing glandular-pubescent adaxially.
False indusia

marginal, weakly differentiated, 0.05–0.20 mm wide.

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

± continuous around segment margins.

usually discontinuous, concentrated on apical and lateral lobes.
Sporangia

containing 32 spores.

containing 32 spores.
Costae

brown adaxially for most of length;

abaxial scales absent.

green or straw-colored adaxially for most of length;

abaxial scales absent.
n

= 2n = 90, apogamous.

Cheilanthes feei

Cheilanthes kaulfussii
Phenology Sporulating late spring–fall. Sporulating summer–fall.
Habitat Calcareous cliffs and ledges, usually on limestone or sandstone Rocky slopes and ledges, usually on igneous substrates
Elevation 100–3800 m (300–12500 ft) 300–2500 m (1000–8200 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
AR; AZ; CA; CO; IA; ID; IL; KS; KY; MN; MO; MT; NE; NM; NV; OK; OR; SD; TX; UT; VA; WA; WI; WY; AB; BC; n Mexico
[WildflowerSearch map]
from FNA
TX; Mexico; Central America; South America
Discussion

Cheilanthes feei is an apogamous triploid of unknown parentage. It has small, beadlike blade segments similar to those of subg. Physapteris, but most morphological characteristics suggest a clear relationship to members of subg. Cheilanthes (T. Reeves 1979). The species is most often confused with C. parryi, from which it can be distinguished by its thinner, sparser pubescence and smaller ultimate segments.

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

The few populations of Cheilanthes kaulfussii known in the flora produce 32 spores per sporangium and reproduce apogamously (D. M. Benham 1982). Although the chromosome number of North American specimens has not been established with certainty, the specimens appear to be polyploids that may have been derived from 64-spored Mexican populations through autopolyploidy. The species is quite distinctive and should not be confused with any other member of the flora.

(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. covillei, C. eatonii, 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. gracillima, C. horridula, C. intertexta, 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
Name authority T. Moore: Index Fil. 38. (1857) Kunze: Linnaea 13: 145. (1839)
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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