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Notholaena ochracea (Hook.) Yatsk. & Arbeláez 2008

Orange Cloakfern

Carl Rothfels
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Containing group: Notholaena aureolina clade

Introduction

This is the striking fern long known as Cheilanthes aurantiaca. Plastid DNA data, however, demonstrate that it is not closely related to Cheilanthes and is instead embedded within Notholaena (Rothfels et al., 2008), within which it has recently been given this name (Yatskievych and Arbeláez, 2008).

This species occurs in much of central Mexico, from Sinaloa to Oaxaca, where it prefers dry forests (usually oak or pine), and is typically found on or among rocks.

Characteristics

Notholaena ochracea has vibrant orange farina, a feature that is otherwise only seen in one or two species of African Cheilanthes (C. welwitschii; C. mossambicensis—in the hemionitids) and in the rare scaly Notholaena aurantiaca. The leaves of N. ochracea are elliptic or lanceolate, and tend to be pinnate-pinnatifid, with broad blunt leaf segments. This silhouette is distinctive, but surprisingly reminiscent of the otherwise very dissimilar Cheiloplecton rigidum var. lanceolatum.

Other Names for Notholaena ochracea (Hook.) Yatsk. & Arbeláez 2008

References

Gastony, G. J., and D. R. Rollo. 1995. Phylogeny and generic circumscriptions of cheilanthoid ferns (Pteridaceae: Cheilanthoideae) inferred from rbcL nucleotide sequences. American Fern Journal 85:341-360.

Gastony, G. J., and D. R. Rollo. 1998. Cheilanthoid ferns (Pteridaceae: Cheilanthoideae) in the southwestern United States and adjacent Mexico--A molecular phylogenetic reassessment of generic lines. Aliso 17:131-144.

Mickel, J. T., and A. R. Smith. 2004. The Pteridophytes of Mexico. The New York Botanical Garden Press, New York.

Rothfels, C. J., M. D. Windham, A. L. Grusz, G. J. Gastony, and K. M. Pryer. 2008. Toward a monophyletic Notholaena (Pteridaceae): Resolving patterns of evolutionary convergence in xeric-adapted ferns Taxon 57:712-724.

Schuettpelz, E., H. Schneider, L. Huiet, M. D. Windham, and K. M. Pryer. 2007. A molecular phylogeny of the fern family Pteridaceae: assessing overall relationships and the affinities of previously unsampled genera. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 44:1172-1185.

Windham, M. D., L. Huiet, E. Schuettpelz, C. J. Rothfels, J. Beck, A. L. Grusz, G. Yatskievych, and K. M. Pryer. 2008. Using plastid and nuclear DNA sequences to redraw generic boundaries and demystify species complexes in cheilanthoid ferns. American Fern Journal (in review).

Windham, M. D., and G. Yatskievych. 2003. Chromosome studies of cheilanthoid ferns (Pteridaceae: Cheilanthoideae) from the western United States and Mexico. American Journal of Botany 90:1788-1800.

Yatskievych, G., and A. L. A. Arbeláez. 2008. A new species and three generic transfers in the fern genus Notholaena (Pteridaceae). Novon 18:120-124.

Title Illustrations
Click on an image to view larger version & data in a new window
Click on an image to view larger version & data in a new window
Scientific Name Notholaena ochracea
Location Mexico, Mexico
Specimen Condition Live Specimen
Identified By C.J.Rothfels
Image Use creative commons This media file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License - Version 3.0.
Copyright © 2009 Carl Rothfels
Scientific Name Notholaena ochracea
Location Mexico, Mexico
Specimen Condition Live Specimen
Identified By C.J.Rothfels
Image Use creative commons This media file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License - Version 3.0.
Copyright © 2009 Carl Rothfels
About This Page

Carl Rothfels
Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, USA

Correspondence regarding this page should be directed to Carl Rothfels at

Page: Tree of Life Notholaena ochracea (Hook.) Yatsk. & Arbeláez 2008. Orange Cloakfern. Authored by Carl Rothfels. The TEXT of this page is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License - Version 3.0. Note that images and other media featured on this page are each governed by their own license, and they may or may not be available for reuse. Click on an image or a media link to access the media data window, which provides the relevant licensing information. For the general terms and conditions of ToL material reuse and redistribution, please see the Tree of Life Copyright Policies.

Citing this page:

Rothfels, Carl. 2008. Notholaena ochracea (Hook.) Yatsk. & Arbeláez 2008. Orange Cloakfern. Version 23 December 2008 (under construction). http://tolweb.org/Notholaena_ochracea/133622/2008.12.23 in The Tree of Life Web Project, http://tolweb.org/

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