Woodsia obtusa |
Woodsia neomexicana |
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blunt-lobe woodsia, blunt-lobed cliff fern, bluntlobe cliff fern, woodsie à lobes arrondis |
New Mexican cliff fern, New Mexico cliff fern |
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Stems | compact to creeping, erect to horizontal, with few to many persistent petiole bases of unequal lengths; scales often uniformly brown but at least some bicolored with dark central stripe and pale brown margins, narrowly lanceolate. |
compact, erect to ascending, with few to many persistent petiole bases of unequal lengths; scales mostly uniformly brown but at least some bicolored with dark central stripe and pale brown margins, narrowly lanceolate. |
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Leaves | 8–60 × 2.5–12 cm. |
4–30 × 1.5–6 cm. |
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Petiole | light brown or straw-colored when mature, occasionally darker at very base, not articulate above base, relatively brittle and easily shattered. |
light brown or straw-colored when mature, occasionally darker at very base, not articulate above base, relatively brittle and easily shattered. |
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Blade | lanceolate to ovate, 2-pinnate to 2-pinnate-pinnatifid proximally, moderately glandular, rarely somewhat viscid; many glandular hairs with thick stalks and distinctly bulbous tips; rachis with glandular hairs and scattered, often hairlike scales. |
linear to lanceolate, usually pinnate-pinnatifid proximally, glabrescent to sparsely glandular, never viscid; glandular hairs with thin stalks and slightly expanded tips; rachis with scattered glandular hairs and rare, hairlike scales. |
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Pinnae | ovate-deltate to elliptic, longer than wide, abruptly tapered to a rounded or broadly acute apex, occasionally attenuate; largest pinnae with 5–14 pairs of pinnules; abaxial and adaxial surfaces glandular, lacking nonglandular hairs or scales. |
ovate-deltate to elliptic, longer than wide, abruptly tapered to a rounded or broadly acute apex; largest pinnae with 3–7 pairs of closely spaced pinnules; abaxial and adaxial surfaces glabrescent to sparsely glandular, lacking nonglandular hairs or scales. |
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Indusia | of relatively broad, nonfilamentous segments, these multiseriate throughout, composed of ± isodiametric cells, entire or glandular along distal edge, concealed by or slightly surpassing mature sporangia. |
of narrow, filamentous segments, these uniseriate for most of length, composed of ± isodiametric cells, usually surpassing mature sporangia. |
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Spores | averaging 35–47 µm. |
averaging 44–52 µm. 2n = 152. |
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Pinnules | dentate, sometimes deeply lobed; margins nonlustrous, thin, with occasional glands, lacking cilia or translucent projections. |
dentate, often shallowly lobed; margins nonlustrous, thin, with occasional glands, lacking cilia, with 1–2-celled translucent projections on teeth. |
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Vein | tips usually enlarged to form whitish hydathodes visible adaxially. |
tips occasionally enlarged to form whitish hydathodes visible adaxially. |
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Woodsia obtusa |
Woodsia neomexicana |
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Phenology | Sporulating summer–fall. | |||||
Habitat | Cliffs and rocky slopes, usually on sandstone or igneous substrates | |||||
Elevation | 300–3500 m (1000–11500 ft) | |||||
Distribution |
AL; AR; CT; DE; FL; GA; IA; IL; IN; KS; KY; LA; MA; MD; ME; MI; MN; MO; MS; NC; NE; NH; NJ; NY; OH; OK; PA; RI; SC; TN; TX; VA; VT; WI; WV; ON; QC; only in the flora
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AZ; CO; NM; OK; SD; TX
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Discussion | Woodsia obtusa comprises two cytotypes that are treated here as subspecies because they show subtle morphologic and ecological distinctions and tend to have different distributions. Tetraploid populations (subsp. obtusa) are found throughout the eastern flora, commonly occurring on limestone. The diploid (subsp. occidentalis) is found near the western edge of the species range, usually on sandstone and granitic substrates. Isozyme studies suggest that subsp. obtusa may have been derived from subsp. occidentalis through autopolyploidy (M. D. Windham 1993). The westernmost collections of Woodsia obtusa (all subsp. occidentalis) come from the Wichita Mountains of Oklahoma and the Edwards Plateau of Texas. Reports of this species from the trans-Pecos region of western Texas are apparently based on misidentifications. Subspecies 2. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Woodsia neomexicana traditionally has been identified as W. mexicana. Both taxa are tetraploid and may share one parent (M. D. Windham 1993); W. neomexicana is separated from typical W. mexicana by its completely filamentous indusial segments, reduced glandularity, and more northerly distribution. Isozyme data suggest that W. neomexicana is an allotetraploid hybrid between W. phillipsii and the diploid progenitor of W. oregana subsp. cathcartiana (M. D. Windham 1993). As with all allopolyploids, W. neomexicana can vary in the direction of either parent, and some plants (especially those resembling W. phillipsii) can be difficult to identify. All characters except those controlled directly by ploidy level show this tendency, and spore size remains the most dependable character for distinguishing W. phillipsii and W. neomexicana. This species hybridizes with W. oregana subsp. cathcartiana and W. phillipsii to produce sterile tetraploids and triploids, respectively. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
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Key |
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Source | FNA vol. 2. | FNA vol. 2. | ||||
Parent taxa | Dryopteridaceae > Woodsia | Dryopteridaceae > Woodsia | ||||
Sibling taxa | ||||||
Subordinate taxa | ||||||
Synonyms | Aspidium obtusum, W. perriniana | |||||
Name authority | (Swartz) Torrey: New York State, Rep. Geol. Surv. 195. (1840) | Windham: Contr. Univ. Michigan Herb. 19: 52. (1993) | ||||
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