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

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 exce ...

s with a cosmopolitan distribution 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 p ...

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, ) is an enclosure in which spores are formed. It can be composed of a single cell or can be multicellular. Virtually all plants, fungi, and many other lineages form sporangia at some point in their life cyc ...

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

circumscribed In geometry, the circumscribed circle or circumcircle of a polygon is a circle that passes through all the vertices of the polygon. The center of this circle is called the circumcenter and its radius is called the circumradius. Not every polyg ...

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 Gaga ( he, גע גע literally 'touch touch') (also: ga-ga, gaga ball, or ga-ga ball) is a variant of dodgeball that is played in a gaga "pit". The game combines dodging, striking, running, and jumping, with the objective of being the last perso ...

'' and the revived genus '' Myriopteris''. 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 anthrop ...

of the genus was uncertain . The ''Checklist of Ferns and Lycophytes of the World'' lists species in several distinct groups. ''Cheilanthes'' sensu stricto contains about 20 species from North and tropical Central and South America: *''

Cheilanthes arequipensis ''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 eve ...

'' (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'' Maxon *'' Cheilanthes leucopoda'' Link *'' Cheilanthes lonchophylla'' (R.M.Tryon) R.M.Tryon & A.F.Tryon *'' Cheilanthes macleanii'' (J.Sm.) Hook. *'' Cheilanthes mathewsii'' Kunze *'' Cheilanthes micropteris'' Sw. *'' Cheilanthes pantanalensis'' E.L.M.Assis, Ponce & Labiak *'' Cheilanthes peruviana'' (Desv.) Moore *'' Cheilanthes poeppigiana'' 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 eve ...

'' Rosenst. *''

Cheilanthes sarmientoi ''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 ...

'' 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 c ...

contains about 50 species that molecular phylogenetic studies suggest do not form a clade 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 ''Cheilanthes austrotenuifolia'' is a species of Australian rock fern from the family Pteridaceae. Once a common understory plant along streams in moist areas of Southern Australia, ''Cheilianthes austrotenuifolia'' is still quite widespread in r ...

'' 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 ''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 eve ...

'' Verdc. *'' Cheilanthes deltoidea'' Kunze *'' Cheilanthes depauperata'' Baker *'' Cheilanthes dinteri'' Brause *'' Cheilanthes distans'' (R.Br.) Mett. *''

Cheilanthes dolomiticola ''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 eve ...

'' (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 ''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 ...

'' (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 ''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 ...

'' 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. {{Taxonbar, from=Q2628740 Fern genera Taxa named by Olof Swartz