Cheilanthes cucullans Fée

  • Authority

    Mickel, John T. & Beitel, Joseph M. 1988. Pteridophyte Flora of Oaxaca, Mexico. Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 46: 1-580.

  • Family

    Pteridaceae

  • Scientific Name

    Cheilanthes cucullans Fée

  • Description

    Species Description - Rhizome slender, long-creeping, 2 mm diam.; rhizome scales ca. 2 mm long, golden brown, linear-lanceolate, concolorous, margin with long cilia (0.1-0.3 mm long); fronds to 35 cm long, distant; stipe 1/3-½ the frond length, castaneous, terete, with long, golden hairs and short hairs; blade oblong-lanceolate, bipinnate-pinnatifid, pinnule lobes obcuneate on both acroscopic and basiscopic sides of pinnules, rachis and pinna rachises with dense appressed hairs (1-2 mm long); upper surface dark green, glabrous; lower surface with scattered to dense, 0.3-0.5 mm long, whitish, catenate hairs and sparse tan, segmented hairs (0.5-1 mm long); sori elongate along vein ends forming 0.5 mm wide marginal band, margin curved (mostly lobe tips), modified into 0.5 mm wide false indusium; spores tan.

  • Discussion

    Type. Mexico. Valley of Mexico, Schaffner 82 (P?; isotype K!, frag. US!). Cheilanthes micromera Link, Hort. berol. 2: 36. 1833. Cheilanthes microphylla (Swartz) Swartz ß micromera (Link) Moore, Index fil. 247. 1860. Type. Mexico. Cultivated at B (B, photos GH, NY). Cheilanthes cucullans resembles C. microphylla but has abundant hairlike scales on rachis and costae, a wide-creeping rhizome, and long-ciliate rhizome scales. See key for comparison with C. notholaenoides, which also has dense hairs on its rachis.

  • Distribution

    Dry to moist rocky slopes, often near streams; Centro, Etla, Huajuapan, Ixtlán, Miahuatlán, Sola de Vega, Teotitlán, Teposcolula, Tlacolula, Tlaxiaco, Zaachila; 1050-2350 m. Mexico (Chih, Jal, Mich, Gro, Mor, Mex, DF, Pue, Oax, Chis); Guat.

    Mexico North America| Guatemala Central America|