Myriopteris viscida

Myriopteris viscida
Conservation status
Vulnerable  (NatureServe) [1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Division:	Polypodiophyta
Class:	Polypodiopsida
Order:	Polypodiales
Family:	Pteridaceae
Genus:	Myriopteris
Species:	M. viscida
Binomial name
Myriopteris viscida (Davenp.) Grusz & Windham
Synonyms
Cheilanthes viscidaDavenp. Hemionitis viscida(Davenp.) Christenh.

Myriopteris viscida, formerly known as Cheilanthes viscida, is a species of lip fern known by the common names viscid lip fern and viscid lace fern.

It is native to southern California, at elevations of 100–1,600 metres (330–5,250 ft). It is an uncommon member of the flora in rocky areas of the higher Mojave Desert mountains, and in the ecotone of the Peninsular Ranges and the Colorado Desert. Its distribution extends into northern Baja California.

Description

This fern produces frilly leaves up to about 30 centimeters long, each divided into segments which are subdivided, the ultimate segments just a few millimeters long and widely lance-shaped to oblong. The leaf segments bear resin glands which exude a very sticky, clear fluid.

The leaves are also somewhat hairy. The leaf segments have curled edges along which are located the sori with their brown sporangia.

Etymology

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. ^[2] The common name viscid lip fern ^{[3] [4]} refers to the sticky glands on the underside of the leaf described by the epithet.

References

1. NatureServe (November 1, 2024). "Cheilanthes viscida". NatureServe Explorer. Arlington, Virginia. Retrieved November 17, 2024.
2. Clute 1901, pp. 237, 242.
3. Windham & Rabe 1993.
4. Lellinger 1985, p. 142.

• Clute, Willard N. (1901). Our Ferns in Their Haunts. New York: Frederick A. Stokes Co.
• Kirkpatrick, Ruth E.B.; Smith, Alan R.; Lemieux, Thomas; Alverson, Edward, eds. (2014). "Myriopteris viscida". 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.
• Windham, Michael D.; Rabe, Eric W. (1993). "Cheilanthes viscida". 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.

External links

• Calflora Database: Myriopteris viscida (viscid lip fern, viscid lipfern) — (formerly Cheilanthes viscida).
• Jepson Manual eFlora (TJM2) treatment of Myriopteris viscida — (formerly Cheilanthes viscida).
• USDA Plants Profile for Cheilanthes viscida
• Flora of North America
• Myriopteris viscida in the CalPhotos photo database, University of California, Berkeley