Woodsia ilvensis
Woodsia alpina
oblong woodsia, rusty cliff fern, rusty woodsia, woodsie de l'île d'elbe
alpine cliff fern, alpine woodsia, northern cliff fern, woodsie alpine
compact, erect to ascending, with abundant persistent petiole bases of ± equal length;
scales uniformly brown, lanceolate.
compact, erect to ascending, with cluster of persistent petiole bases of ± equal length;
scales uniformly brown, lanceolate.
4.5–25 × 1.2–3.5 cm.
2.5–20 × 0.5–2.5 cm.
usually brown or dark purple when mature, articulate above base at swollen node, relatively brittle and easily shattered.
reddish brown or dark purple when mature, articulate above base at swollen node, relatively brittle and easily shattered.
narrowly lanceolate, usually 2-pinnate proximally, lacking glands, never viscid;
rachis usually with abundant hairs and scales.
linear to narrowly lanceolate, usually pinnate-pinnatifid proximally, lacking glands, never viscid;
rachis with widely scattered hairs and scales.
ovate-lanceolate to deltate, longer than wide, abruptly tapered to a rounded or broadly acute apex;
largest pinnae with 4–9 pairs of pinnules;
abaxial surface with mixture of hairs and linear-lanceolate scales, adaxial surface with multicellular hairs concentrated along midrib.
ovate-lanceolate to deltate, longer than wide, abruptly tapered to a rounded or broadly acute apex;
largest pinnae with 1–3 pairs of pinnules;
abaxial surface with isolated hairs and linear scales, adaxial surface glabrous.
of narrow, hairlike segments, these uniseriate throughout, composed of cells many times longer than wide, usually surpassing mature sporangia.
of narrow, hairlike segments, these uniseriate throughout, composed of cells many times longer than wide, usually surpassing mature sporangia.
averaging 39–46 µm. 2n = 82.
averaging 46–53 µm.
entire or crenate, rarely shallowly lobed;
margins nonlustrous, thin, ciliate with multicellular hairs, lacking translucent projections.
entire or broadly crenate;
margins nonlustrous, thin, with occasional isolated cilia, lacking translucent projections.
tips frequently enlarged to form whitish hydathodes visible adaxially.
tips often enlarged to form whitish hydathodes visible adaxially.
Woodsia ilvensis
Woodsia alpina
Although generally separable by the characters given in the key, shade forms of Woodsia ilvensis with a reduced number of scales and hairs are occasionally misidentified as W. alpina. The morphologic distinctions between these species are further blurred by natural hybridization, which produces the intermediate triploid known as W. × gracilis. Some of the best characters for distinguishing these taxa are spore size and morphology. Spores average less than 46 µm in W. ilvensis, more than 46 µm in W. alpina, and are malformed and abortive in W. × gracilis. Woodsia ilvensis also hybridizes with W. oregana subsp. cathcartiana to form the sterile triploid W. × abbeae (F. S. Wagner 1987).
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Isozyme studies confirm the longstanding hypothesis that Woodsia alpina is an allotetraploid derived from hybridization between W. glabella and W. ilvensis (see reticulogram). Considerable disagreement exists concerning the chromosome number of W. alpina, but 2n = 160 seems most likely, given the numbers reported for the two parental species. Hybrids between W. alpina and W. ilvensis have been reported from both Europe and North America. These morphologically intermediate triploids with malformed spores have been called W. × gracilis (Lawson) Butters.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
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