Cheilanthes intertexta
Cheilanthes lindheimeri
coastal lip fern
fairy swords
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.
long-creeping, 0.7–3 mm diam.;
scales uniformly brown, ovate-lanceolate, straight to slightly contorted, loosely appressed, often deciduous on older portions of stem.
clustered, 4–25 cm;
vernation noncircinate.
scattered, 7–30 cm;
vernation noncircinate.
dark brown, rounded adaxially.
usually dark brown, rounded adaxially.
lanceolate to ovate-deltate, usually 3-pinnate at base, 1–4 cm wide;
rachis rounded adaxially, with scattered scales and sparse monomorphic pubescence.
oblong-lanceolate to ovate-deltate, 4-pinnate at base, 2–5 cm wide;
rachis rounded adaxially, with scattered linear-lanceolate scales and sparse 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.
round to slightly oblong, beadlike, the largest 0.7–1 mm, abaxially nearly glabrous, often with a few small scales or branched hairs, adaxially appearing tomentose but actually nearly glabrous.
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 not conspicuously larger than adjacent pair, usually equilateral, appearing densely tomentose adaxially.
marginal, weakly differentiated, 0.05–0.25 mm wide.
marginal, weakly differentiated, 0.05–0.25 mm wide.
± continuous around segment margins.
± continuous around segment margins.
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 adaxially for most of length;
abaxial scales multiseriate, lanceolate-ovate, truncate to cordate at base, usually without overlapping basal lobes, conspicuous, the largest 0.4–1 mm wide, strongly imbricate, often concealing ultimate segments, long-ciliate throughout, cilia fine, curly, forming entangled mass.
= 2n = 90, apogamous.
Cheilanthes intertexta
Cheilanthes lindheimeri
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.)
Cheilanthes lindheimeri is an apogamous triploid of unknown parentage. It is occasionally misidentified as C. wootonii (actually the element here recognized as C. yavapensis); most specimens can be placed using the characteristics given in the key. The adaxial blade surface appears to be densely gray tomentose, but this is an illusion created by the fine, curly cilia of the abaxial costal scales that overtop the minute ultimate segments and form an entangled mass that prevents the easy removal of individual costal scales.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
CA
OR
Flora NW
PNW Herbaria
WildflowerSearch
iNaturalist
USDA Plants Database
