Cheilanthes intertexta |
Cheilanthes alabamensis |
|
---|---|---|
coastal lip fern |
Alabama lip fern |
|
Stems | short-creeping, usually 3–7 mm diam.; scales usually bicolored, with broad, well-defined, dark, central stripe and narrow, light brown margins, linear-lanceolate, straight to slightly contorted, strongly appressed, persistent. |
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. |
Leaves | clustered, 4–25 cm; vernation noncircinate. |
clustered, 6–50 cm; vernation noncircinate. |
Petiole | dark brown, rounded adaxially. |
black, rounded adaxially. |
Blade | lanceolate to ovate-deltate, usually 3-pinnate at base, 1–4 cm wide; rachis rounded adaxially, with scattered scales and sparse monomorphic pubescence. |
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. |
Ultimate segments | oblong to ovate, beadlike, the largest 1–3 mm, abaxially densely covered with branched hairs and small, ciliate scales, adaxially with scattered branched hairs or glabrescent. |
narrowly elliptic to elongate-deltate, not beadlike, the largest 3–7 mm, abaxially and adaxially sparsely hirsute to glabrescent. |
Pinnae | not articulate, dark color of stalk continuing into pinna base, basal pair not conspicuously larger than adjacent pair, usually equilateral, appearing glabrous to sparsely pubescent adaxially. |
not articulate, dark color of stalk continuing into pinna base, basal pair slightly smaller than adjacent pair, ± equilateral, appearing glabrous or sparsely pubescent adaxially. |
False indusia | marginal, weakly differentiated, 0.05–0.25 mm wide. |
marginal to obscurely inframarginal, somewhat differentiated, 0.1–0.4 mm wide. |
Sori | ± continuous around segment margins. |
± continuous around segment margins. |
Sporangia | containing 64 spores. |
containing 32 spores. |
Costae | green adaxially for most of length; abaxial scales multiseriate, ovate-lanceolate, deeply cordate at base, with overlapping basal lobes, conspicuous, the longest 0.4–1 mm wide, imbricate, often concealing ultimate segments, long-ciliate, cilia usually confined to proximal 1/2. |
green adaxially for most of length; abaxial scales absent. |
n | = 2n = 87, apogamous. |
|
Cheilanthes intertexta |
Cheilanthes alabamensis |
|
Phenology | Sporulating late spring–fall. | Sporulating summer–fall. |
Habitat | Rocky slopes and ledges, usually on igneous substrates | Rocky slopes, cliffs, and ledges, usually on limestone |
Elevation | 500–2800 m (1600–9200 ft) | 100–2000 m (300–6600 ft) |
Distribution |
CA; NV; OR
|
AL; AR; AZ; GA; KS; KY; LA; MO; NC; NM; OK; TN; TX; VA; Mexico |
Discussion | Preliminary isozyme analyses support D. B. Lellinger's (1985) suggestion that Cheilanthes intertexta is a fertile allotetraploid hybrid between C. gracillima and C. covillei. It is morphologically most similar to the latter parent (see comments under C. covillei), but it is occasionally confused with C. gracillima, with which it apparently hybridizes to form sterile intermediates that have been called C. gracillima var. aberrans M. E. Jones. Cheilanthes intertexta may also be confused with C. clevelandii, with which it is partially sympatric. In addition to the characters given in the key, C. intertexta is distinguished from closely related sexual species by having larger spores averaging more than 55 µm in diameter. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
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.) |
Source | FNA vol. 2. | FNA vol. 2. |
Parent taxa | Pteridaceae > Cheilanthes | Pteridaceae > Cheilanthes |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | C. covillei subsp. intertexta | Pteris alabamensis, Pellaea alabamensis |
Name authority | (Maxon) Maxon: in Abrams, Ill. Fl. Pacific States 1: 28. (1923) | (Buckley) Kunze: Linnaea 20: 4. (1847) |
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