Notholaena aureolina Yatsk. & Arbeláez 2008

Introduction

Notholaena aureolina is found in generally disturbed sites, such as earthen roadsides or riverbanks, in southern Mexico and northern Central America. Long known as Cheilanthes aurea, it has only recently been shown to be embedded within Notholaena (Rothfels et al., 2008) and given a name there (Yatskievych and Arbeláez, 2008). It differs from members of core Notholaena mostly in the presence of a well-developed lip-like false indusium (very similar to that seen on many Cheilanthes species). However, like most members of the notholaenids (and unlike members of Cheilanthes), it has farina on its gametophytes as well as its sporophytes (Rothfels et al., 2008). Limited cytogenetic work to date indicates that this species is a sexual diploid (Windham and Yatskievych, 2003).

Characteristics

With its bright yellow farina, dissected leaves, and well-developed false indusia, N. aureolina is unlikely to be confused with any species other than its close relative, N. jaliscana. From N. jaliscana, N. aureolina differs by: shorter and less dense leaf hairs; narrower false indusia; thinner leaf stalks; dense (vs. sparse) farina beneath; triangular-to-pentagonal (vs. lanceolate) leaves; fewer pinnae pairs; and smooth margins on the false indusia (vs. frayed or fibrous margins in N. jaliscana). The geographic ranges of the two species differ, also; N. aureolina is recorded in Mexico from Guerrero, México, Morelos, and Oaxaca, whereas the global distribution of N. jaliscana is limited to the Mexican states of Jalisco and Nayarit (Mickel and Smith, 2004).

Other Names for Notholaena aureolina Yatsk. & Arbeláez 2008

• Cheilanthes aurea Baker 1868
• Aleuritipteris aurea (Baker) Ching 1941
• Vernacular Names: Common Yellow Cloakfern, Southern Yellow Cloakfern

References

Gastony, G. J., and D. R. Rollo. 1995. Phylogeny and generic circumscriptions of cheilanthoid ferns (Pteridaceae: Cheilanthoideae) inferred from rbcL nucleotide sequences. American Fern Journal 85:341-360.

Gastony, G. J., and D. R. Rollo. 1998. Cheilanthoid ferns (Pteridaceae: Cheilanthoideae) in the southwestern United States and adjacent Mexico--A molecular phylogenetic reassessment of generic lines. Aliso 17:131-144.

Mickel, J. T., and A. R. Smith. 2004. The Pteridophytes of Mexico. The New York Botanical Garden Press, New York.

Rothfels, C. J., M. D. Windham, A. L. Grusz, G. J. Gastony, and K. M. Pryer. 2008. Toward a monophyletic Notholaena (Pteridaceae): Resolving patterns of evolutionary convergence in xeric-adapted ferns Taxon 57:712-724.

Schuettpelz, E., H. Schneider, L. Huiet, M. D. Windham, and K. M. Pryer. 2007. A molecular phylogeny of the fern family Pteridaceae: assessing overall relationships and the affinities of previously unsampled genera. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 44:1172-1185.

Windham, M. D., L. Huiet, E. Schuettpelz, C. J. Rothfels, J. Beck, A. L. Grusz, G. Yatskievych, and K. M. Pryer. 2008. Using plastid and nuclear DNA sequences to redraw generic boundaries and demystify species complexes in cheilanthoid ferns. American Fern Journal (in review).

Windham, M. D., and G. Yatskievych. 2003. Chromosome studies of cheilanthoid ferns (Pteridaceae: Cheilanthoideae) from the western United States and Mexico. American Journal of Botany 90:1788-1800.

Yatskievych, G., and A. L. A. Arbeláez. 2008. A new species and three generic transfers in the fern genus Notholaena (Pteridaceae). Novon 18:120-124.