Myriopteris lindheimeri

Myriopteris lindheimeri, formerly known as Cheilanthes lindheimeri,[1] is a species of fern in the Pteridaceae family (subfamily Cheilanthoideae) with the common name fairy swords.[2]

Myriopteris lindheimeri
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Division: Polypodiophyta
Class: Polypodiopsida
Order: Polypodiales
Family: Pteridaceae
Genus: Myriopteris
Species:
M. lindheimeri
Binomial name
Myriopteris lindheimeri

Description

Myriopteris lindheimeri grows in dense colonies from a long creeping rhizome with brown scales. Leaves are generally lanceolate and 7–30 cm long and 2–5 cm wide with a dark brown petiole. The leaf blade is 4-pinnate at the base, grayish or silvery green on top and covered with rusty brown wooly hairs below. The rachis has scattered linear-lanceolate scales and sparse hairs. Ultimate leaf segments are round to slightly oblong, beadlike, up to 0.7–1 mm in diameter. The tops of the leaves typically have a distinctive silvery green tone.[3][4]

Range and habitat

Myriopteris lindheimeri is native to southwestern United States and northern Mexico. It grows on rocky slopes and ledges, on a variety of acidic to mildly basic substrates, at elevations from 200 to 2500 m.[3]

Taxonomy

Myriopteris lindheimeri is an apogamous (asexually reproducing) triploid of unknown parentage. Based on plastid DNA sequence, Myriopteris lindheimeri is part of Myriopteris clade C (covillei clade) and is very closely related to Myriopteris yavapensis.[5] It is occasionally misidentified as Myriopteris wootonii.[3][4]

References

  1. Grusz & Windham 2013.
  2. "Myriopteris lindheimeri (Fairy-Swords)". iNaturalist. Retrieved 2022-10-25.
  3. "Flora of North America".
  4. Felger, R.S., S. Rutman, J. Malusa, and T.R. Van Devender. 2013. Ajo Peak to Tinajas Altas: A flora of southwestern Arizona: Part 3: Ferns, lycopods, and gymnosperms. Phytoneuron 2013-37: 1–46.| url=https://cals.arizona.edu/herbarium/sites/cals.arizona.edu.herbarium/files/pdf/03PhytoN.pdf
  5. Grusz et al. 2014.

Works cited

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