Cheilanthes covillei is a species of lip fern known by the common name Coville's lip fern. This plant is native to the southwestern United States and Baja California, where it grows in rocky crevices in the mountains and foothills.

Description

This fern has green leaves which may be up to 4-pinnate, that is, made up of leaflets that subdivide 3 times, such that the leaflets are layered with overlapping rounded segments. The leaves have a bumpy, cobbled look. The undersides of the leaves have scales which are lengthened outgrowths of the epidermis

Epidermis (botany)

The epidermis is a single-layered group of cells that covers plants' leaves, flowers, roots and stems. It forms a boundary between the plant and the external environment. The epidermis serves several functions, it protects against water loss, regulates gas exchange, secretes metabolic compounds,...

. Tucked under the scales are the sporangia

Sporangium

A sporangium is an enclosure in which spores are formed. It can be composed of a single cell or can be multicellular. All plants, fungi, and many other lineages form sporangia at some point in their life cycle...

, which make the spores.

External links

• Jepson Manual Treatment
• USDA Plants Profile
• Photo gallery