Cheilanthes feei
Encyclopedia
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.
line the edges of the segment undersides and may be buried under the hairs. The fern reproduces asexually by apogamy
.
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
and Alberta
Alberta
Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...
to northern Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, and throughout much of the central United States.
It is found in rocky areas, especially in calcareous
Calcareous
Calcareous is an adjective meaning mostly or partly composed of calcium carbonate, in other words, containing lime or being chalky. The term is used in a wide variety of scientific disciplines.-In zoology:...
rock like limestone
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
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 soriSorus
A sorus is a cluster of sporangia .In fungi and lichens, the sorus is surrounded by an external layer. In some red algae it may take the form of a depression into the thallus....
line the edges of the segment undersides and may be buried under the hairs. The fern reproduces asexually by apogamy
Apomixis
In botany, apomixis was defined by Winkler as replacement of the normal sexual reproduction by asexual reproduction, without fertilization. This definition notably does not mention meiosis...
.