Cheilanthes eatonii Baker
Detail
- Family
- Pteridaceae
- Botanical Name
- Cheilanthes eatonii Baker
- Common Name
- Chestnut Lip Fern
- Synonym(s)
- Cheilanthes castanea Maxon
- Flora of Virginia Name/Status
- Cheilanthes castanea Maxon
- Comments
- Remarkably disjunct to Virginia from Arkansas and westward. First reported from the Appalachians (Virginia and West Virginia) in Castanea 34:59-60 (1969). Cheilanthes eatonii and C. castanea Maxon have overlapping ranges in the southwestern U.S., and their separation is controversial due to the lack of a clear morphological break (see FNA Vol. 2). Disjunct Appalachian populations have been traditionally aligned with C. castanea and, with the exception of one population in Giles County, the 30 or so Virginia populations are very consistent morphologically. However, the Giles County population has significantly wider laminar scales and hoary pubescent adaxial leaf surfaces that align it with C. eatonii. In order to avoid a situation where we are forced to recognize two disjunct, poorly segregated western ferns, we are following the conservative approach of FNA and treating our material as part of a broad C. eatonii that includes C. castanea. Obviously this complex is in dire need of range-wide systematic study.
- Habitat
- Dry, exposed or thinly shaded outcrops of sedimentary and metamorphic rocks, including limestone, dolomite, siltstone, metasiltstone, and calcareous shale. Rare in the mountains and sw. Piedmont.
- Native Status
- Native
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