''Cheilanthes'', commonly known as lip ferns, is a genus of about 180 species of rock-dwelling

fern The ferns (Polypodiopsida or Polypodiophyta) are a group of vascular plants (plants with xylem and phloem) that reproduce via spores and have neither seeds nor flowers. They differ from mosses by being vascular, i.e., having specialized tissue ...

s with a

cosmopolitan distribution In biogeography, a cosmopolitan distribution is the range of a taxon that extends across most or all of the surface of the Earth, in appropriate habitats; most cosmopolitan species are known to be highly adaptable to a range of climatic and en ...

in warm, dry, rocky regions, often growing in small crevices high up on cliffs. Most are small, sturdy and evergreen. The leaves, often densely covered in

trichome Trichomes (; ) are fine outgrowths or appendages on plants, algae, lichens, and certain protists. They are of diverse structure and function. Examples are hairs, glandular hairs, scales, and papillae. A covering of any kind of hair on a plant ...

s, spring directly from the rootstocks. Many of them are desert ferns, curling up during dry times and reviving with the coming of moisture. At the ends of veins

sporangia A sporangium (from Late Latin, ; : sporangia) is an enclosure in which spores are formed. It can be composed of a unicellular organism, single cell or can be multicellular organism, multicellular. Virtually all plants, fungus, fungi, and many ot ...

, or spore-bearing structures, are protected by leaf margins, which curl over them.

Taxonomy

The genus name is derived from the

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

words χεῖλος (''cheilos''), meaning "lip," and ἄνθος (''anthos''), meaning "flower." ''Cheilanthes'' as traditionally

circumscribed In geometry, a circumscribed circle for a set of points is a circle passing through each of them. Such a circle is said to ''circumscribe'' the points or a polygon formed from them; such a polygon is said to be ''inscribed'' in the circle. * Circum ...

is now known to be highly paraphyletic, comprising at least four generically separate groups. The type species, '' C. micropteris'', is most closely allied to the genera '' Aleuritopteris'' and '' Sinopteris'' (Schuettpelz ''et al.''). In the early 21st century, many species, principally from the New World, were moved into the new genus ''

Gaga In mathematics, algebraic geometry and analytic geometry are two closely related subjects. While algebraic geometry studies algebraic varieties, analytic geometry deals with complex manifolds and the more general analytic spaces defined locally b ...

'' and the revived genus ''

Myriopteris ''Myriopteris'', commonly known as the lip ferns, is a genus of cheilanthoid ferns. Like other cheilanthoids, they are ferns of dry habitats, reproducing both sexually and apogamously. Many species have leaves divided into a large number of small ...

''. Further work remains to be done to render ''Cheilanthes'' monophyletic. Members of many other cheilanthoid genera have at times been given names in the genus.

Species

The

circumscription Circumscription may refer to: * Circumscribed circle * Circumscription (logic) *Circumscription (taxonomy) * Circumscription theory, a theory about the origins of the political state in the history of human evolution proposed by the American anthr ...

of the genus was uncertain . The ''Checklist of Ferns and Lycophytes of the World'' lists species in several distinct groups. ''Cheilanthes''

sensu stricto ''Sensu'' is a Latin word meaning "in the sense of". It is used in a number of fields including biology, geology, linguistics, semiotics, and law. Commonly it refers to how strictly or loosely an expression is used in describing any particular c ...

contains about 20 species from North and tropical Central and South America: *'' Cheilanthes arequipensis'' (Maxon) R.M.Tryon & A.F.Tryon *'' Cheilanthes fractifera'' Tryon *''

Cheilanthes glutinosa ''Cheilanthes'', commonly known as lip ferns, is a genus of about 180 species of rock-dwelling ferns with a cosmopolitan distribution in warm, dry, rocky regions, often growing in small crevices high up on cliffs. Most are small, sturdy and ever ...

'' M.Kessler & A.R.Sm. *'' Cheilanthes incarum'' Maxon *'' Cheilanthes incisa'' Kunze ex Mett. *'' Cheilanthes juergensii'' Rosenst. *'' Cheilanthes laciniata'' Sodiro *''

Cheilanthes leonardii ''Cheilanthes'', commonly known as lip ferns, is a genus of about 180 species of rock-dwelling ferns with a cosmopolitan distribution in warm, dry, rocky regions, often growing in small crevices high up on cliffs. Most are small, sturdy and ever ...

'' Maxon *''

Cheilanthes leucopoda ''Cheilanthes'', commonly known as lip ferns, is a genus of about 180 species of rock-dwelling ferns with a cosmopolitan distribution in warm, dry, rocky regions, often growing in small crevices high up on cliffs. Most are small, sturdy and ever ...

'' Link *''

Cheilanthes lonchophylla ''Cheilanthes'', commonly known as lip ferns, is a genus of about 180 species of rock-dwelling ferns with a cosmopolitan distribution in warm, dry, rocky regions, often growing in small crevices high up on cliffs. Most are small, sturdy and ever ...

'' (R.M.Tryon) R.M.Tryon & A.F.Tryon *''

Cheilanthes macleanii ''Cheilanthes'', commonly known as lip ferns, is a genus of about 180 species of rock-dwelling ferns with a cosmopolitan distribution in warm, dry, rocky regions, often growing in small crevices high up on cliffs. Most are small, sturdy and ever ...

'' (J.Sm.) Hook. *''

Cheilanthes mathewsii ''Cheilanthes'', commonly known as lip ferns, is a genus of about 180 species of rock-dwelling ferns with a cosmopolitan distribution in warm, dry, rocky regions, often growing in small crevices high up on cliffs. Most are small, sturdy and ever ...

'' Kunze *'' Cheilanthes micropteris'' Sw. *''

Cheilanthes pantanalensis ''Cheilanthes'', commonly known as lip ferns, is a genus of about 180 species of rock-dwelling ferns with a cosmopolitan distribution in warm, dry, rocky regions, often growing in small crevices high up on cliffs. Most are small, sturdy and ever ...

'' E.L.M.Assis, Ponce & Labiak *''

Cheilanthes peruviana ''Cheilanthes'', commonly known as lip ferns, is a genus of about 180 species of rock-dwelling ferns with a cosmopolitan distribution in warm, dry, rocky regions, often growing in small crevices high up on cliffs. Most are small, sturdy and ever ...

'' (Desv.) Moore *''

Cheilanthes poeppigiana ''Cheilanthes'', commonly known as lip ferns, is a genus of about 180 species of rock-dwelling ferns with a cosmopolitan distribution in warm, dry, rocky regions, often growing in small crevices high up on cliffs. Most are small, sturdy and ever ...

'' Mett. ex Kuhn *''

Cheilanthes rufopunctata ''Cheilanthes'', commonly known as lip ferns, is a genus of about 180 species of rock-dwelling ferns with a cosmopolitan distribution in warm, dry, rocky regions, often growing in small crevices high up on cliffs. Most are small, sturdy and ever ...

'' Rosenst. *'' Cheilanthes sarmientoi'' Ponce *'' Cheilanthes spiculata'' Mickel *'' Cheilanthes squamosa'' Gill. ex Hook. & Grev. *'' Cheilanthes volcanensis'' de la Sota ''Cheilanthes''

sensu lato ''Sensu'' is a Latin word meaning "in the sense of". It is used in a number of fields including biology, geology, linguistics, semiotics, and law. Commonly it refers to how strictly or loosely an expression is used in describing any particular co ...

contains about 50 species that

molecular phylogenetic Molecular phylogenetics () is the branch of phylogeny that analyzes genetic, hereditary molecular differences, predominantly in DNA sequences, to gain information on an organism's evolutionary relationships. From these analyses, it is possible to ...

studies suggest do not form a

clade In biology, a clade (), also known as a Monophyly, monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that is composed of a common ancestor and all of its descendants. Clades are the fundamental unit of cladistics, a modern approach t ...

with the core ''Cheilanthes'' species, falling into separate clades, but for which no placement outside ''Cheilanthes'' was available : *'' Cheilanthes adiantoides'' T.C.Chambers & P.A.Farrant *'' Cheilanthes angustifrondosa'' Alston *'' Cheilanthes austrotenuifolia'' H.M.Quirk & T.C.Chambers *'' Cheilanthes bergiana'' Schltdl. *'' Cheilanthes boivinii'' Mett. ex Kuhn *'' Cheilanthes bolborrhiza'' Mickel & Beitel *'' Cheilanthes bonapartei'' J.P.Roux *'' Cheilanthes botswanae'' Schelpe & N.C.Anthony *'' Cheilanthes brownii'' (Desv.) Domin *'' Cheilanthes buchananii'' (Baker) Domin *'' Cheilanthes capensis'' (Thunb.) Sw. *'' Cheilanthes caudata'' R.Br. *'' Cheilanthes ceterachoides'' A.W.Klopper & Klopper *'' Cheilanthes contracta'' Kunze *'' Cheilanthes deboeri'' Verdc. *'' Cheilanthes deltoidea'' Kunze *'' Cheilanthes depauperata'' Baker *'' Cheilanthes dinteri'' Brause *'' Cheilanthes distans'' (R.Br.) Mett. *'' Cheilanthes dolomiticola'' (Schelpe) Schelpe & N.C.Anthony *'' Cheilanthes eckloniana'' (Kunze) Mett. *'' Cheilanthes erythraea'' Pic. Serm. *'' Cheilanthes fragillima'' F.Muell. *'' Cheilanthes hastata'' (L. fil.) Kunze *'' Cheilanthes hirta'' Sw. *'' Cheilanthes inaequalis'' (Kunze) Mett. *'' Cheilanthes induta'' Kunze *'' Cheilanthes involuta'' (Sw.) Schelpe & N.C.Anthony *'' Cheilanthes kunzei'' Mett. *'' Cheilanthes lasiophylla'' Pic. Serm. *'' Cheilanthes leachii'' (Schelpe) Schelpe *'' Cheilanthes lozanoi'' (Maxon) R.M.Tryon & A.F.Tryon *'' Cheilanthes madagascariensis'' Baker *'' Cheilanthes marlothii'' (Hieron.) Schelpe *'' Cheilanthes muelleri'' (Hook.) comb. ined. *'' Cheilanthes multifida'' (Sw.) Sw. *'' Cheilanthes namaquensis'' (Baker) Schelpe & N.C.Anthony *'' Cheilanthes nielsii'' W.Jacobsen *'' Cheilanthes nitida'' (R.Br.) P.S.Green *'' Cheilanthes parviloba'' (Sw.) Sw. *'' Cheilanthes pentagona'' Schelpe & N.C.Anthony *'' Cheilanthes perlanata'' (Pic. Serm.) Kornas *'' Cheilanthes perrieri'' J.P.Roux *'' Cheilanthes praetermissa'' D.L.Jones *'' Cheilanthes prenticei'' Luerss. *'' Cheilanthes pumilio'' (R.Br.) F.Muell. *'' Cheilanthes quadripinnata'' (Forsk.) Kuhn *'' Cheilanthes reynoldsii'' (F.Muell.) comb. ined. *'' Cheilanthes robusta'' (Kunze) Tryon *'' Cheilanthes sieberi'' Kunze *'' Cheilanthes similis'' Ballard *'' Cheilanthes skinneri'' (Hook.) R.M.Tryon & A.F.Tryon

References

Flora Europaea: ''Cheilanthes''Flora of North America: ''Cheilanthes''

lip fern
" Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 30 Nov 2007. {{Authority control Fern genera Taxa named by Olof Swartz