''Astrolepis'' is a small genus of

fern A fern (Polypodiopsida or Polypodiophyta ) is a member of a group of vascular plants (plants with xylem and phloem) that reproduce via spores and have neither seeds nor flowers. The polypodiophytes include all living pteridophytes except t ...

s in the family

Pteridaceae Pteridaceae is a family of ferns in the order Polypodiales, including some 1150 known species in ca 45 genera (depending on taxonomic opinions), divided over five subfamilies. The family includes four groups of genera that are sometimes recogni ...

. It was formed in 1992 from species previously placed in ''

Cheilanthes ''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 ...

'' and ''

Notholaena ''Notholaena'' (from Ancient Greek νόθο(ς) + χλαῖνα), cloak fern, is a genus of ferns in the Cheilanthoideae subfamily of the Pteridaceae. Ferns of this genus are mostly epipetric (growing on rock) or occurring in coarse, gravelly soi ...

''. The name is derived from the

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece 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 ...

words ἄστρον (), meaning "star," and λεπίς (), meaning "scale," referring to the star-like scales on adaxial blade surfaces. Members of the genus are commonly known as star-scaled cloak ferns and are native to the Americas.

Species

, the ''Checklist of Ferns and Lycophytes of the World'' recognized the following species: *'' Astrolepis cochisensis'' (Goodd.) D.M.Benham & Windham – Cochise scaly cloakfern *''

Astrolepis crassifolia ''Astrolepis'' is a small genus of ferns in the family Pteridaceae. It was formed in 1992 from species previously placed in ''Cheilanthes'' and ''Notholaena''. The name is derived from the Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, o ...

'' (Houlston & T.Moore) D.M.Benham & Windham *''

Astrolepis deltoidea ''Astrolepis'' is a small genus of ferns in the family Pteridaceae. It was formed in 1992 from species previously placed in ''Cheilanthes'' and ''Notholaena''. The name is derived from the Greek words ἄστρον (), meaning "star," and λεπ� ...

'' (Baker) J.B.Beck & Windham *'' Astrolepis integerrima'' (Hook.) D.M.Benham & Windham – hybrid cloakfern *'' Astrolepis laevis'' (M.Martens & Galeotti) Mickel *'' Astrolepis obscura'' J.B.Beck & Windham *''

Astrolepis sinuata ''Astrolepis'' is a small genus of ferns in the family Pteridaceae. It was formed in 1992 from species previously placed in ''Cheilanthes'' and ''Notholaena''. The name is derived from the Greek words ἄστρον (), meaning "star," and λεπ� ...

'' (Lag. ex Sw.) D.M.Benham & Windham – wavy scaly cloakfern *'' Astrolepis windhamii'' D.M.Benham – Windham's scaly cloakfern

References

External links

Jepson Manual TreatmentUSDA Plants Profile
Pteridaceae Fern genera {{Pteridaceae-stub