| Myriopteris wootonii | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| 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]
Myriopteris wootonii grows fronds from a long creeping rhizome with tan to brown scales. The frond (leaf) is 10-20 cm long and 2-3 cm 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]
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]
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.
Based on plastid DNA sequence analysis, Myriopteris wootonii is very closely related to Myriopteris fendleri. [8]
