Cheilanthes lanosa
Cheilanthes covillei
hairy lip fern
Coville's lip fern
compact to short-creeping, usually 4–8 mm diam.;
scales often uniformly brown but at least some on each plant with thin, poorly defined, dark, central stripe, linear-lanceolate, straight to slightly contorted, loosely appressed, persistent.
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.
clustered, 7–50 cm;
vernation circinate.
clustered, 5–30 cm;
vernation noncircinate.
dark brown, rounded adaxially.
dark brown, rounded adaxially.
linear-oblong to lanceolate, usually 2-pinnate-pinnatifid at base, 1.5–5 cm wide;
rachis rounded adaxially, lacking scales, with monomorphic pubescence.
lanceolate to ovate-deltate, 3–4-pinnate at base, 1.5–5 cm wide;
rachis rounded adaxially, somewhat scaly, not pubescent.
oblong to lanceolate, not beadlike, the largest 3–5 mm, abaxially and adaxially sparsely hirsute with long, segmented hairs.
round to oblong, beadlike, the largest 1–3 mm, abaxially glabrous or with a few small scales near base, adaxially glabrous.
not articulate, dark color of stalk continuing into pinna base, basal pair slightly smaller than adjacent pair, ± equilateral, appearing sparsely hirsute adaxially.
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.
marginal, weakly differentiated, 0.05–0.25 mm wide.
marginal, weakly differentiated, 0.05–0.25 mm wide.
discontinuous, concentrated on small apical and lateral lobes.
± continuous around segment margins.
containing 64 spores.
containing 64 spores.
brown adaxially for most of length;
abaxial scales absent.
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.
= 60.
= 60.
Cheilanthes lanosa
Cheilanthes covillei
Cheilanthes lanosa is apparently confined to the forests and prairies of eastern North America, and reports of this distinctive species from Arizona and New Mexico (A. J. Petrik-Ott 1979) have not been substantiated by herbarium specimens.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
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.)
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