Pellaea ternifolia |
Pellaea ovata |
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trans-Pecos cliffbrake |
ovate-leaf cliff-brake |
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Stems | 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. |
creeping, horizontal, slender, 2–5 mm diam.; scales mostly bicolored, lanceolate, largest scales 0.3–0.8 mm wide, centers black, thick, margins brown, thin, erose-dentate. |
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Leaves | monomorphic, clustered on stem, 10–50 cm; croziers sparsely to densely villous. |
monomorphic, clustered or scattered along stem, 15–100 cm; croziers pubescent, bearing a few scales. |
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Petiole | black or dark purple, lustrous, rounded or slightly flattened adaxially, without prominent articulation lines. |
straw-colored, tan, or gray, not lustrous, rounded or slightly flattened adaxially, without prominent articulation lines. |
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Blade | 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, usually 3-pinnate proximally, 5–25 cm wide; rachis tan throughout, strongly flexuous, rounded or flattened adaxially, usually glabrous. |
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Ultimate segments | 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. |
lanceolate-deltate, 5–20 mm, leathery, glabrous or sparsely pubescent; margins recurved on fertile segments, covering less than 1/2 abaxial surface, borders whitish, entire; apex obtuse to truncate. |
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Pinnae | perpendicular to rachis or slightly ascending, not decurrent on rachis, ternate at base of leaf; costae absent. |
retrorse, projecting downward toward base of leaf, not decurrent on rachis, with 5–40 ultimate segments; costae strongly flexuous, 25–120 mm, longer than ultimate segments. |
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Veins | of ultimate segments obscure. |
of ultimate segments obscure. |
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Sporangia | long-stalked, containing 64 spores, not intermixed with farina-producing glands. |
short-stalked, containing 64 spores, not intermixed with farina-producing glands. |
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2n | = 58. |
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Pellaea ternifolia |
Pellaea ovata |
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Phenology | Sporulating summer–fall. | |||||||||
Habitat | Rocky slopes and ledges, leaves often supported by associated vegetation, on a variety of substrates including granite and limestone | |||||||||
Elevation | 300–1700 m (1000–5600 ft) | |||||||||
Distribution |
AZ; TX; Mexico; Central America; South America; Pacific Islands in Hawaii
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TX; Mexico; Central America; South America; West Indies in Hispaniola
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Discussion | 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.) |
Populations of Pellaea ovata in the flora are composed of sexual diploids; an apogamous triploid cytotype predominates south of the United States. I have not seen herbarium specimens to substantiate reports of P. ovata from New Mexico (D. B. Lellinger 1985). (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
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Key |
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Source | FNA vol. 2, p. 180. | FNA vol. 2. | ||||||||
Parent taxa | Pteridaceae > Pellaea | Pteridaceae > Pellaea | ||||||||
Sibling taxa | ||||||||||
Subordinate taxa | ||||||||||
Synonyms | Pteris ternifolia | |||||||||
Name authority | (Cavanilles) Link: Fil. Spec. 59. (1841) | (Desvaux) Weatherby: Contr. Gray Herb. 114: 34. 1936 Pteris ovata Desvaux, Mém. Soc. Lin. (1827) | ||||||||
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