Pellaea ternifolia
Pellaea lyngholmii
trans-Pecos cliffbrake
lyngholm's cliffbrake
compact, ascending, stout, 5–10 mm diam.;
scales bicolored, linear-subulate, 0.1–0.3 mm wide, centers black, thick, margins brown, thin, erose-dentate.
compact, ascending, stout, 5–10 mm diam.;
scales uniformly brown or tan, linear-subulate, 0.1–0.3 mm wide, thin, margins entire to denticulate.
monomorphic, clustered on stem, 10–50 cm;
croziers sparsely to densely villous.
somewhat dimorphic, sterile leaves shorter and less divided than fertile leaves, clustered on stem, 10–30 cm;
croziers villous.
black or dark purple, lustrous, rounded or slightly flattened adaxially, without prominent articulation lines.
dark brown to reddish purple, lustrous, rounded adaxially, without prominent articulation lines.
linear to ovate, deeply pinnate-pinnatifid proximally, 2.5–8 cm wide;
rachis black or purple throughout, straight, often flattened adaxially, glabrous or villous.
elongate-deltate to ovate, 2-pinnate proximally, 5–15 cm wide;
rachis brown or reddish purple throughout, straight, often slightly flattened adaxially, sparsely villous with long, divergent hairs.
linear-oblong, 10–40 mm, leathery, glabrous to sparsely villous abaxially on midrib;
margins recurved on fertile segments, rarely covering more than 1/2 abaxial surface, borders whitish, entire;
apex mucronate.
oblong-lanceolate, 7–25 mm, leathery, sparsely villous abaxially near midrib;
margins usually recurved on fertile segments, covering less than 1/2 abaxial surface, borders whitish, crenulate;
apex slightly mucronate.
perpendicular to rachis or slightly ascending, not decurrent on rachis, ternate at base of leaf;
costae absent.
perpendicular to rachis or slightly ascending, not decurrent on rachis, usually with 7–15 ultimate segments;
costae straight, 25–80 mm, usually longer than ultimate segments.
of ultimate segments obscure.
of ultimate segments obscure.
long-stalked, containing 64 spores, not intermixed with farina-producing glands.
long-stalked, containing 32 spores, not intermixed with farina-producing glands.
Pellaea ternifolia
Pellaea lyngholmii
Subspecies 3 (3 in the flora).
Pellaea ternifolia is represented in the flora by three morphologically and chromosomally distinct taxa. These discrete genetic entities also show a tendency toward geographic isolation and are treated here as subspecies. Diploid populations referred to P. ternifolia subsp. ternifolia are scattered from Texas through Mexico to South America. The pubescent tetraploid (P. ternifolia subsp. villosa) follows the Sierra Madre Oriental from Puebla, Mexico, north to Texas; the glabrous tetraploid (P. ternifolia subsp. arizonica) occurs in Arizona, Texas, and northern Mexico. Isozyme and chromosome studies suggest that both tetraploids are segmental allopolyploids produced by hybridization between subsp. ternifolia and other (as yet unidentified) diploid elements within P. ternifolia.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Pellaea lyngholmii is an apogamous tetraploid that arose through hybridization between P. atropurpurea and P. truncata (M. D. Windham 1993). It is most often confused with P. atropurpurea, from which P. lyngholmii differs in having sparsely villous rachises, smaller and more numerous ultimate segments, and spores usually more than 62 µm in diameter.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
1. Rachises villous, especially in axils of pinnae; pinnae with hairs scattered along main veins abaxially. | subsp. villosa |
1. Rachises glabrous or with a few widely scattered hairs; pinnae completely glabrous. | → 2 |
2. Largest ultimate segments (excluding terminal pinnae) usually less than 18 mm; distal portion of petioles grooved or flattened adaxially; spores usually 39–45 µm diam. | subsp. ternifolia |
2. Largest ultimate segments (excluding terminal pinnae) usually more than 18 mm; distal portion of petioles rounded or slightly flattened adaxially; spores usually 46–53 µm diam. | subsp. arizonica |
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