Cheilanthes intertexta
Cheilanthes kaulfussii
coastal lip fern
glandular lip fern
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, usually 4–8 mm diam.;
scales uniformly black or with narrow brown margins, linear-subulate, straight to slightly contorted, strongly appressed, persistent.
clustered, 4–25 cm;
vernation noncircinate.
clustered, 8–35 cm;
vernation circinate.
dark brown, rounded adaxially.
dark brown, flattened or slightly grooved distally on adaxial surface.
lanceolate to ovate-deltate, usually 3-pinnate at base, 1–4 cm wide;
rachis rounded adaxially, with scattered scales and sparse monomorphic pubescence.
elongate-pentagonal, 3-pinnate-pinnatifid to 4-pinnate at base, 3–10 cm wide;
rachis grooved adaxially, lacking scales, with monomorphic pubescence.
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.
linear-oblong, not especially beadlike, largest 3–8 mm, abaxially and adaxially glandular pubescent with short, sticky, capitate glands.
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 larger than adjacent pair, strongly inequilateral, proximal basiscopic pinnules greatly enlarged, appearing glandular-pubescent adaxially.
marginal, weakly differentiated, 0.05–0.25 mm wide.
marginal, weakly differentiated, 0.05–0.25 mm wide.
± continuous around segment margins.
usually discontinuous, concentrated on apical and lateral lobes.
containing 64 spores.
containing 32 spores.
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 or straw-colored adaxially for most of length;
abaxial scales absent.
Cheilanthes intertexta
Cheilanthes kaulfussii
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.)
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.)
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