Pellaea ovata

(Desvaux) Weatherby

Contr. Gray Herb. 114: 34. 1936 Pteris ovata Desvaux, Mém. Soc. Lin. 1827.

Common names: Pellaea flexuosa (Kaulfuss ex Schlechtendal & Chamisso) Link
Treatment appears in FNA Volume 2.

Stems creeping, horizontal, slender, 2–5 mm diam.; scales mostly bicolored, lanceolate, largest scales 0.3–0.8 mm wide, centers black, thick, margins brown, thin, erose-dentate. Leaves monomorphic, clustered or scattered along stem, 15–100 cm; croziers pubescent, bearing a few scales. Petiole straw-colored, tan, or gray, not lustrous, rounded or slightly flattened adaxially, without prominent articulation lines. Blade elongate-deltate, usually 3-pinnate proximally, 5–25 cm wide; rachis tan throughout, strongly flexuous, rounded or flattened adaxially, usually glabrous. Pinnae retrorse, projecting downward toward base of leaf, not decurrent on rachis, with 5–40 ultimate segments; costae strongly flexuous, 25–120 mm, longer than ultimate segments. Ultimate segments lanceolate-deltate, 5–20 mm, leathery, glabrous or sparsely pubescent; margins recurved on fertile segments, covering less than 1/2 abaxial surface, borders whitish, entire; apex obtuse to truncate. Veins of ultimate segments obscure. Sporangia short-stalked, containing 64 spores, not intermixed with farina-producing glands. 2n = 58.


Phenology: Sporulating summer–fall.
Habitat: Rocky slopes and ledges, leaves often supported by associated vegetation, on a variety of substrates including granite and limestone
Elevation: 300–1700 m

Distribution

V2 483-distribution-map.gif

Tex., Mexico, West Indies in Hispaniola, Central America, South America

Discussion

Populations of Pellaea ovata in the flora are composed of sexual diploids; an apogamous triploid cytotype predominates south of the United States. I have not seen herbarium specimens to substantiate reports of P. ovata from New Mexico (D. B. Lellinger 1985).

Selected References

None.

Lower Taxa

None.

"thick" is not a number.

... more about "Pellaea ovata"
obtuse +  and truncate +
Michael D. Windham +
(Desvaux) Weatherby +
cordate +, truncate +  and rounded +
glabrous +  and pubescent +
elongate-deltate +
5 cm50 mm <br />0.05 m <br /> (25 cm250 mm <br />0.25 m <br />) +
Pellaea flexuosa (Kaulfuss ex Schlechtendal & Chamisso) Link +
flexuous +
Tex. +, Mexico +, West Indies in Hispaniola +, Central America +  and South America +
300–1700 m +
yellow +  and white +
obcordate;reniform +
Rocky slopes and ledges, leaves often supported by associated vegetation, on a variety of substrates including granite and limestone +
0.03 cm0.3 mm <br />3.0e-4 m <br /> (0.08 cm0.8 mm <br />8.0e-4 m <br />) +
monomorphic +
scattered;clustered +
recurved +  and reflexed +
noncircinate +  and circinate +
15 cm150 mm <br />0.15 m <br /> (100 cm1,000 mm <br />1 m <br />) +
entire +, erose +  and dentate +
gray;tan;gray;tan;straw-colored +
pubescent +  and glabrous +
flattened +  and rounded +
Sporulating summer–fall. +
downward +, projecting +  and retrorse +
Contr. Gray Herb. +
flattened +  and rounded +
persistent +
lanceolate +
brown +  and tan +
cristate +  and tetrahedral-globose +
dark colored +
0.2 cm2 mm <br />0.002 m <br /> (0.5 cm5 mm <br />0.005 m <br />) +
slender +
Pellaea ovata +
species +
pubescent;glabrous +
0.5 cm5 mm <br />0.005 m <br /> (2 cm20 mm <br />0.02 m <br />) +
crescent--shaped +  and roundish +
branched +  and anastomosing +