Myriopteris gracilis

Myriopteris gracilis
Conservation status
	; Secure (NatureServe)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Division:	Polypodiophyta
Class:	Polypodiopsida
Order:	Polypodiales
Family:	Pteridaceae
Genus:	Myriopteris
Species:	M. gracilis
Binomial name
	Myriopteris gracilis; Fée
Synonyms
	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.;

Myriopteris gracilis, formerly known as Cheilanthes feei, is a species of lip fern known by the common name slender lip fern. It 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, especially in calcareous rock like limestone where it grows in cracks and crevices.

Description

This fern bears gray to pale green leaves up to 18 or 20 centimeters long and 3 wide. Each leaflet on the leaf is divided into lobes which are divided once more into rounded segments. The undersides of the segments are concave and densely hairy. The sori line the edges of the segment undersides and may be buried under the hairs. The fern reproduces asexually by apogamy.

External links

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