Myriopteris wootonii
| Myriopteris wootonii | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Embryophytes |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Division: | Polypodiophyta |
| Class: | Polypodiopsida |
| Order: | Polypodiales |
| Family: | Pteridaceae |
| Genus: | Myriopteris |
| Species: | M. wootonii |
| Binomial name | |
| Myriopteris wootonii (Maxon) Grusz & Windham | |
Myriopteris wootonii, formerly known as Cheilanthes wootonii,[2] is a species of fern in the Pteridaceae family (subfamily Cheilanthoideae) with the common name Wooton's lace fern.[3]
Description
Myriopteris wootonii grows fronds from a long creeping rhizome with tan to brown scales. The frond (leaf) is 10–20 cm (3.9–7.9 in) long and 2–3 cm (0.8–1.2 in) wide with a narrow stem (stipe) 1–2 mm thick. The leaf blade 3- to 4-pinnate and the leaflets are small and nearly round. Their abaxial (lower) surface is concave and densely covered with cilia and lanceolate-linear scales, and their adaxial (top) surface is glabrous.[4] The leaf viewed from above has the general appearance of a flat array of tiny green pebbles, an appearance that is shared by several other Myriopteris species, some with overlapping ranges including Myriopteris covillei and Myriopteris intertexta.[3]
Range and habitat
Myriopteris wootonii is native to the southwestern United States and northern Mexico. It grows in sun on rocky outcrops in mountains at 1600 to 1800 meters elevation.[4]
Taxonomy
Members of the genus Cheilanthes as historically defined (which includes Myriopteris) are commonly known as "lip ferns" due to the lip-like (false) indusium formed by the leaf margins curling over the sori.[5] The common name Wooton's lip fern[6][7] refers to the collector honored by the epithet.
M. wootonii is an apogamous (asexually reproducing) allotriploid. Its paternal parent is M. lindheimeri, contributing two sets of chromosomes, and its maternal parent is M. fendleri, contributing one set of chromosomes,[8] so it appears as sister to the latter in plastid DNA sequence analysis.[9]
Conservation
NatureServe considers M. wootonii to be globally secure (S5), but threatened along the northern edge of its range. It is considered critically imperiled (S1) in Nevada, Oklahoma, and Utah, and imperiled (S2) in California and Colorado.[1]
References
- 1 2 NatureServe 2026.
- ↑ Grusz & Windham 2013.
- 1 2 "Myriopteris wootonii (Wooton's Lace Fern)". iNaturalist. Retrieved 2022-10-25.
- 1 2 "The Jepson Herbarium".
- ↑ Clute 1901, pp. 237, 242.
- ↑ Windham & Rabe 1993.
- ↑ Lellinger 1985, p. 146.
- ↑ Grusz, Windham & Pryer 2009, pp. 1640–1642.
- ↑ Grusz et al. 2014, p. 704.
Works cited
- Clute, Willard N. (1901). Our Ferns in Their Haunts. New York: Frederick A. Stokes Co.
- Grusz, Amanda L.; Windham, Michael D.; Pryer, Kathleen M. (2009). "Deciphering the origins of apomictic polyploids in the Cheilanthes yavapensis complex (Pteridaceae)". American Journal of Botany. 96 (9): 1636–1645. doi:10.3732/ajb.0900019.
- 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, Layne; 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 wootonii". Jepson eFlora, Revision 2. Jepson Flora Project. Retrieved November 12, 2022.
- Lellinger, David B. (1985). A Field Manual of the Ferns & Fern-Allies of the United States & Canada. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution Press. ISBN 0-87474-603-5.
- NatureServe (June 28, 2026). "Myriopteris wootonii". NatureServe Explorer. Arlington, Virginia. Retrieved June 5, 2026.
- Windham, Michael D.; Rabe, Eric W. (1993). "Cheilanthes wootonii". In Flora of North America Editorial Committee (ed.). Flora of North America North of Mexico. Vol. 2: Pteridophytes and Gymnosperms. New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press. Retrieved July 22, 2025.