Astrolepis
Encyclopedia
Astrolepis is a small genus of fern
s 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 (astron), meaning "star," and λεπίς (lepis), 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.
Fern
A fern is any one of a group of about 12,000 species of plants belonging to the botanical group known as Pteridophyta. Unlike mosses, they have xylem and phloem . They have stems, leaves, and roots like other vascular plants...
s in the family Pteridaceae
Pteridaceae
Pteridaceae is a large family of ferns in the order Pteridales. Members of the family have creeping or erect rhizomes and are mostly terrestrial or epipetric...
. It was formed in 1992 from species previously placed in Cheilanthes and Notholaena
Notholaena
Notholaena is a genus of ferns in the family Pteridaceae found exclusively in the New World. Ferns of this genus are mostly epipetric or occurring in coarse, gravelly soils, and are most abundant and diverse in the mountain ranges of warm arid or semiarid regions...
. The name is derived from the Greek
Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek is the stage of the Greek language in the periods spanning the times c. 9th–6th centuries BC, , c. 5th–4th centuries BC , and the c. 3rd century BC – 6th century AD of ancient Greece and the ancient world; being predated in the 2nd millennium BC by Mycenaean Greek...
words ἄστρον (astron), meaning "star," and λεπίς (lepis), 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.
Selected species
- Astrolepis cochisensisAstrolepis cochisensisAstrolepis cochisensis is a species of fern known by the common name Cochise scaly cloak fern. It is native to the southwestern United States and northern Mexico, where occupies mainly desert habitat, often on calcareous soils. The fern grows from a short rhizome. Its leaves are less than 10...
(Goodding) D.M.Benham & Windham – Cochise scaly cloakfern - Astrolepis integerrima (Hook.) D.M.Benham & Windham – hybrid cloakfern
- Astrolepis sinuata (Lag. ex Sw.) D.M.Benham & Windham – wavy scaly cloakfern
- Astrolepis windhamii D.M.Benham – Windham's scaly cloakfern