Myriopteris gracilis, formerly known as Cheilanthes feei,[1] is a species of lip fern known by the common name slender lip fern or Fee's lip fern.

Myriopteris gracilis
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Division: Polypodiophyta
Class: Polypodiopsida
Order: Polypodiales
Family: Pteridaceae
Subfamily: Cheilanthoideae
Genus: Myriopteris
Species:
M. gracilis
Binomial name
Myriopteris gracilis
Synonyms
  • Allosorus gracilis (Fée) Farw., nom. illeg. hom.
  • Cheilanthes feei T.Moore
  • Cheilanthes gracilis (Fée) Mett. ex Riehl, nom. illeg. hom.
  • Cheilanthes lanuginosa J.Sm., nom. illeg. hom.
  • Hemionitis feei (T.Moore) Christenh., nom. illeg.

Description

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Myriopteris gracilis
 
Myriopteris gracilis - gray leaves.

Myriopteris gracilis grows from a short creeping rhizome with pale to red-brown scales usually with a dark mid-stripe. The leaves are gray to pale green and 6 to 18 cm long and 1.5 to 3 cm wide. Each leaflet on the leaf is divided into lobes which are divided once more into rounded segments (3-pinnate). The undersides of the segments are concave and densely covered with short pale to dark tan hairs. The sori line the edges of the segment undersides and may be buried under the hairs. The fern reproduces asexually by apogamy.[2]

Distribution and habitat

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Myriopteris gracilis is native to much of western North America from British Columbia and Alberta to northern Mexico, and throughout much of the central United States. It is found in rocky areas, generally on calcareous rock such as limestone where it grows in cracks and crevices.[2]

Taxonomy

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Based on plastid DNA sequence analysis Myriopteris gracilis is part of the lanosa clade of Myriopteris. Its closest analyzed relatives are Myriopteris parryi and Myriopteris longipila.[3]

Works cited

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  • Grusz, Amanda L.; Windham, Michael D. (2013). "Toward a monophyletic Cheilanthes: The resurrection and recircumscription of Myriopteris (Pteridaceae)". PhytoKeys (32): 49–64. doi:10.3897/phytokeys.32.6733. PMC 3881352. PMID 24399906.
  • Grusz, Amanda L.; Windham, Michael D.; Yatskievych, George; Huiet, Lane; Gastony, Gerald J.; Pryer, Kathleen M. (2014). "Patterns of Diversification in the Xeric-adapted Fern Genus Myriopteris (Pteridaceae)" (PDF). Systematic Botany. 39 (3): 698–714. doi:10.1600/036364414X681518. JSTOR 24546228.
  • Kirkpatrick, Ruth E.B.; Smith, Alan R.; Lemieux, Thomas; Alverson, Edward, eds. (2014). "Myriopteris gracilis". Jepson eFlora, Revision 2. Jepson Flora Project. Retrieved November 12, 2022.

References

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