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Pteridaceae

Pteridaceae
Pteridaceae image
Sue Carnahan
  • FNA
  • Resources
Michael D. Windham in Flora of North America (vol. 2)
Plants perennial [annual], on rock or terrestrial, of small (rarely large) stature . Stems compact to creeping, branched or unbranched, dictyostelic, bearing hairs and/or scales. Leaves monomorphic to dimorphic, circinate or noncircinate in bud . Petioles usually with persistent scales proximally, lacking spines; vascular bundles 1--several, roundish or crescent-shaped in cross section. Blades 1--6-pinnate, without laminar buds . Indument on petioles, rachises, costae, and blades, rarely absent or commonly of hairs, glands, and/or scales, occasionally of white or yellow farina. Veins pinnate or parallel in ultimate segments of blades, simple or forked, free or infrequently anastomosing in complex patterns. Sori borne abaxially on veins, often confluent with age and forming a continuous submarginal band, or sporangia densely covering abaxial surface (acrostichoid); receptacle not or only slightly elevated. Indusia (when present) formed by reflexed, recurved, or revolute leaf margin (false indusium). Sporangia stalk of 2--3 rows of cells; annulus vertical, interrupted by stalk; spores 64 or 32 (rarely 16) per sporangium. Spores all 1 kind, brown, black, or gray (rarely yellow), globose to globose-tetrahedral or trigonal, occasionally with prominent equatorial ridge, trilete, or trigonal, variously ornamented (usually cristate or rugose). Gametophytes green, aboveground, obcordate to reniform, sometimes asymmetric, usually glabrous (glandular-farinose in Notholaena ); archegonia and antheridia borne on abaxial surface, antheridia 3-celled.

Considerable disagreement exists concerning the circumscription and proper name of this family. The taxa comprising the Pteridaceae in this treatment were assigned to the Sinopteridaceae and Pteridaceae by D. B. Lellinger (1985) and were included in five families by R. E. G. Pichi-Sermolli (1977). The broad concept followed here is similar (except for the exclusion of Ceratopteris ) to that espoused by R. M. Tryon and A. F. Tryon (1982), who applied the name Pteridaceae to the group. Until very recently, the newer name Adiantaceae was more commonly used.

As represented in North America, Pteridaceae comprise three major evolutionary lines (the adiantoids, the pteroids, and the cheilanthoids). Characteristics holding the family together include abaxial (usually submarginal) sori that lack indusia or are protected by a reflexed or revolute leaf margin, spores that are usually globose-tetrahedral and trilete, and chromosome base numbers of 30 or 29 (rarely 27). The xeric-adapted members of the family (particularly the cheilanthoids) have undergone extensive parallel and convergent evolution, and they have frustrated attempts to produce a natural generic classification based on macromorphologic characteristics alone. Although some workers have aggregated species into a few large genera (e.g., J. T. Mickel 1979b), most tend to recognize smaller segregate genera based on a combination of morphologic, chromosomal, and biochemical data. The latter approach seems to provide a more useful, evolutionarily informative classification and is the one adopted here. Aspidotis and Notholaena are maintained here as distinct from Cheilanthes , and three recently described genera ( Argyrochosma , Astrolepis , and Pentagramma ) have been incorporated into the treatment. The reasons for these changes in generic circumscription are discussed under the individual genera.

Species within inventory project: Arizona Flora
Adiantum aleuticum
Media resource of Adiantum aleuticum
Adiantum capillus-veneris
Media resource of Adiantum capillus-veneris
Adiantum pedatum
Media resource of Adiantum pedatum
Argyrochosma incana
Media resource of Argyrochosma incana
Argyrochosma jonesii
Media resource of Argyrochosma jonesii
Argyrochosma limitanea
Media resource of Argyrochosma limitanea
Astrolepis cochisensis
Media resource of Astrolepis cochisensis
Astrolepis integerrima
Media resource of Astrolepis integerrima
Astrolepis sinuata
Media resource of Astrolepis sinuata
Astrolepis windhamii
Media resource of Astrolepis windhamii
Bommeria hispida
Media resource of Bommeria hispida
Cryptogramma acrostichoides
Media resource of Cryptogramma acrostichoides
Gaga arizonica
Media resource of Gaga arizonica
Myriopteris alabamensis
Media resource of Myriopteris alabamensis
Myriopteris aurea
Media resource of Myriopteris aurea
Myriopteris covillei
Media resource of Myriopteris covillei
Myriopteris fendleri
Media resource of Myriopteris fendleri
Myriopteris gracilis
Media resource of Myriopteris gracilis
Myriopteris lendigera
Media resource of Myriopteris lendigera
Myriopteris lindheimeri
Media resource of Myriopteris lindheimeri
Myriopteris parryi
Media resource of Myriopteris parryi
Myriopteris pringlei
Media resource of Myriopteris pringlei
Myriopteris rufa
Media resource of Myriopteris rufa
Myriopteris tomentosa
Media resource of Myriopteris tomentosa
Myriopteris windhamii
Media resource of Myriopteris windhamii
Myriopteris wootonii
Media resource of Myriopteris wootonii
Myriopteris wrightii
Media resource of Myriopteris wrightii
Myriopteris yavapensis
Media resource of Myriopteris yavapensis
Myriopteris × parishii
Media resource of Myriopteris × parishii
Notholaena aschenborniana
Media resource of Notholaena aschenborniana
Notholaena californica
Media resource of Notholaena californica
Notholaena grayi
Media resource of Notholaena grayi
Notholaena lemmonii
Media resource of Notholaena lemmonii
Notholaena neglecta
Media resource of Notholaena neglecta
Notholaena standleyi
Media resource of Notholaena standleyi
Pellaea atropurpurea
Media resource of Pellaea atropurpurea
Pellaea glabella
Media resource of Pellaea glabella
Pellaea intermedia
Media resource of Pellaea intermedia
Pellaea lyngholmii
Media resource of Pellaea lyngholmii
Pellaea mucronata
Media resource of Pellaea mucronata
Pellaea ternifolia
Media resource of Pellaea ternifolia
Pellaea truncata
Media resource of Pellaea truncata
Pellaea wrightiana
Media resource of Pellaea wrightiana
Pellaea x wagneri
Media resource of Pellaea x wagneri
Pentagramma maxonii
Media resource of Pentagramma maxonii
Pentagramma triangularis
Media resource of Pentagramma triangularis
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This project was made possible in part by the Institute of Museum and Library Services [MG-70-19-0057-19].

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