Notholaena californica

Notholaena californica
Notholaena californica ssp. californica
Conservation status
Vulnerable  (NatureServe)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Division:	Polypodiophyta
Class:	Polypodiopsida
Order:	Polypodiales
Family:	Pteridaceae
Subfamily:	Cheilanthoideae
Genus:	Notholaena
Species:	N. californica
Binomial name
Notholaena californica D.C.Eaton

Notholaena californica is a species of fern known by the common name California cloak fern. It is native to southern California and Arizona in the United States, and in adjacent north-western Mexico, where it grows in dry and rocky conditions, often in desert and chaparral habitats.

Description

The leaves are divided into often asymmetrical leaflets which are subdivided into lobed segments, the leaf measuring 3 to 20 centimeters in total length, not counting the long, brown petiole. It is hairless and lacks scales. The leaf is covered in grainy exudate known as farina. As with many other Cheilanthoid ferns, the fronds can curl up when dry and expand again with moisture.

Chemotypes

The fern comes in two chemotypes which can be distinguished by the color of the farina, white or yellow, and the two are rarely found growing together. The two chemotypes are sometimes treated as subspecies.

Subspecies

• Notholaena californica ssp. californica— Transverse Ranges, Peninsular Ranges
• Notholaena californica ssp. leucophylla — endemic to northwest San Gabriel Mountains, east San Jacinto Mountain.

External links

• Jepson Manual Treatment — Notholaena californica
• USDA Plants Profile: Notholaena californica
• Notholaena californica — U.C. Photo gallery