Pellaea

Pellaea is a genus of ferns in the Cheilanthoideae subfamily of the Pteridaceae.[3] The genus name is derived from the Greek word πελλος (pellos), meaning "dark," and refers to the bluish-gray stems.[4] Members of the genus are commonly known as cliffbrakes.[5] They primarily grow in rocky habitats, including moist rocky canyons, slopes, and bluffs.[4]

Pellaea
Pellaea andromedifolia
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Class: Polypodiopsida
Order: Polypodiales
Family: Pteridaceae
Subfamily: Cheilanthoideae
Genus: Pellaea
Link[1]
Type species
Pellaea atropurpurea
(L.) Link
Species

See text.

Synonyms[2]
  • Bakeropteris Kuntze
  • Cincinalis Desv.
  • Crypteris Nutt.
  • Holcochlaena Baker
  • Holodanaea C.Pres
  • Hymenoloma Davenp.
  • Pellaeopsis J.Sm.
  • Platyloma J.Sm.
  • Pteridella Mett. ex Kuhn
  • Synochlamys Fée

Distribution

Ferns in this genus are most abundant and diverse in the southwestern United States south into Andean South America, central and southern Africa, and eastern Australia to New Zealand.

Description

These ferns typically have creeping rhizomes and pinnately to bipinnately compound leaves lacking prominent scales or trichomes on the blades. Like most members of Pteridaceae, they have marginal sori protected by a false indusium formed from the reflexed leaf margin.

The distinction of Pellaea from the typically hairier or scalier Cheilanthes has proven difficult, with some members being of uncertain affinity, listed by different authors in both genera. Furthermore, Pellaea contains a number of sections that may warrant generic status since they appear to represent convergence in phenotypes related to arid habitats rather than similarity due to common descent. These sections are:

  • Pellaea section Pellaea: includes most American members of the genus as well as a single African member (P. rufa);
  • Pellaea section Platyloma: includes the Australian and New Zealand species;
  • Pellaea section Holcochlaena: includes the African species.

The genus Ormopteris, long combined with Pellaea as a section, was recognized as a separate genus again in 2015.

Members of the genus are not generally used for any commercial purpose, although several species (most notably P. rotundifolia and P. falcata of section Platyloma) are cultivated as indoor plants.

Species

As of January 2020, the Checklist of Ferns and Lycophytes of the World recognized the following species:[2]

  • Pellaea ambigua (Fée) Baker
  • Pellaea andromedifolia (Kaulf.) Fée
  • Pellaea angolensis Schelpe
  • Pellaea angulosa (Bory ex Willd.) Baker
  • Pellaea atropurpurea (L.) Link – purple-stem cliffbrake
  • Pellaea boivinii Hook.
  • Pellaea brachyptera (T.Moore) Baker – Sierra cliffbrake
  • Pellaea breweri D.C.Eaton – Brewer's cliffbrake
  • Pellaea bridgesii Hook. – Bridges' cliffbrake
  • Pellaea calidirupium Brownsey & Lovis
  • Pellaea calomelanos (Sw.) Link
  • Pellaea cordifolia (Sessé & Moc.) A.R.Sm.
  • Pellaea doniana (J.Sm.) Hook.
  • Pellaea dura (Willd.) Baker
  • Pellaea falcata (R.Br.) Fée
  • Pellaea gastonyi Windham
  • Pellaea glabella Mett. ex Kuhn – smooth cliffbrake
  • Pellaea × glaciogena W.H.Wagner
  • Pellaea glauca (Cav.) J.Sm.
  • Pellaea intermedia Mett. ex Kuhn
  • Pellaea leucomelas (Mett. ex Kuhn) Baker
  • Pellaea longipilosa Bonap.
  • Pellaea lyngholmii Windham
  • Pellaea mucronata (D.C.Eaton) D.C.Eaton – birdfoot cliffbrake
  • Pellaea myrtillifolia Mett. ex Kuhn
  • Pellaea nana (Hook.) Bostock
  • Pellaea notabilis Maxon
  • Pellaea oaxacana Mickel & Beitel
  • Pellaea ovata (Desv.) Weath.
  • Pellaea paradoxa (R.Br.) Hook.
  • Pellaea pectiniformis Baker
  • Pellaea pringlei Davenp.
  • Pellaea prolifera Schelpe
  • Pellaea pteroides (L.) Prantl
  • Pellaea pyramidalis (Fée) comb. ined.
  • Pellaea regnelliana (Mett.) Prantl
  • Pellaea ribae A.Mend. & Windham
  • Pellaea rotundifolia (G.Forst.) Hook.
  • Pellaea rufa A.F.Tryon
  • Pellaea sagittata (Cav.) Link
  • Pellaea schippersii Verdc.
  • Pellaea striata (Desv.) C.Chr.
  • Pellaea ternifolia (Cav.) Link
  • Pellaea timorensis Alderw.
  • Pellaea tomentosa Bonap.
  • Pellaea tripinnata Baker
  • Pellaea truncata Goodd. – spiny cliffbrake
  • Pellaea villosa (Windham) Windham & Yatsk.
  • Pellaea wrightiana Hook.
gollark: Or, well, the obvious alternative.
gollark: Maybe. On the one hand I at least like to think I'm vaguely better than average at actually paying attention to explanations for things and won't just immediately consign them to "outgroup → bad" or "not convention → bad". On the other hand probably most people think that since people are bad at comparing things. On the third hand, which I totally have, the alternative is to just assume people doing things are probably right, which seems wrong.
gollark: No, which is why I said I didn't care that much.
gollark: > that might be valid but itS' also an easy to abuse excuse to dislike almost anything> because you can always say that you don't see the pointThis is typically why people explain things.
gollark: I don't care a huge amount either way, but it's vaguely weird.

References
  1. "Genus: Pellaea Link". Germplasm Resources Information Network. United States Department of Agriculture. 5 October 2007. Archived from the original on 22 October 2012. Retrieved 5 November 2011.
  2. Hassler, Michael & Schmitt, Bernd (November 2019). "Oeosporangium". Checklist of Ferns and Lycophytes of the World. 8.11. Retrieved 1 January 2020.
  3. Christenhusz, Maarten J. M.; Zhang, Xian-Chun; Schneider, Harald (18 February 2011). "A linear sequence of extant families and genera of lycophytes and ferns" (PDF). Phytotaxa. 19: 7–54. ISSN 1179-3163.
  4. Windham, Michael D. "Pellaea Link, Fil. Spec. 59. 1841". Flora of North America. eFloras.org. Retrieved 5 November 2011.
  5. "Pellaea". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 5 November 2011.
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