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Notholaena meridionalis Mickel 2004

Southern Cloakfern

Carl Rothfels
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Containing group: core Notholaena

Introduction

Nomenclatural and taxonomic confusion resulted in members of this distinctive species long bearing the name N. affinis (Mickel and Smith, 2004). The latter species is found in northeastern Mexico and is likely not closely related to the southern plants here referred to as N. meridionalis (following Mickel and Smith, 2004). Morphological (Mickel and Smith, 2004) and plastid DNA sequence data (Rothfels, unpublished) instead suggest a close relationship between N. meridionalis and N. lemmonii.

Notholaena meridionalis occurs from extreme southern Mexico (Oaxaca) to Costa Rica, on dry rocky slopes, cliffs, and rock outcrops (including both limestone and igneous substrates).

Characteristics

This species does not occur with any other linear-leaved farinose species, so confusion is unlikely. It most closely resembles the more northern N. lemmonii, from which it differs in its leaf stalk; the leaf stalk of N. lemmonii is grooved, but rounded in N. meridionalis.

Other Names for Notholaena meridionalis Mickel 2004

References

Giauque, M. F. A. 1949. Wax glands and prothallia. American Fern Journal 39:33-35.

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

NatureServe. 2008. NatureServe Explorer, Arlington, Virginia. www.natureserve.org/explorer/

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.

Tryon, R. M. 1956. A revision of the American species of Notholaena. Contributions from the Gray Herbarium 179:1-106.

Windham, M. D. 1993a. Notholaena. Pages 143--149 in Flora of North America (Flora of North American Editorial Committee, ed.) Oxford University Press, New York.

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.

Wollenweber, E. 1984. Exudate flavonoids of Mexican ferns as chemotaxonomic markers. Rev. Latinoamer. Quim. 15:3-11.

Title Illustrations
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Click on an image to view larger version & data in a new window
Scientific Name Notholaena meridionalis
Location Costa Rica, Prov. de Guanacaste
Specimen Condition Live Specimen
Identified By C.J.Rothfels
Image Use creative commons This media file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License - Version 3.0.
Copyright © 2008
Scientific Name Notholaena meridionalis
Location Costa Rica, Prov. de Guanacaste
Comments And Carl's abused hand. Note how tightly curled the pinnae are (with their undersides exposed).
Specimen Condition Live Specimen
Identified By C.J.Rothfels
Image Use creative commons This media file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License - Version 3.0.
Copyright © 2008
Scientific Name Notholaena meridionalis
Location Costa Rica, Prov. de Guanacaste, Palo Verde National Park
Specimen Condition Live Specimen
Identified By C.J.Rothfels
Life Cycle Stage sporophyte
Image Use creative commons This media file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License - Version 3.0.
Copyright © 2008 Carl Rothfels
About This Page

Carl Rothfels
Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, USA

Correspondence regarding this page should be directed to Carl Rothfels at

Page: Tree of Life Notholaena meridionalis Mickel 2004. Southern Cloakfern. Authored by Carl Rothfels. The TEXT of this page is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License - Version 3.0. Note that images and other media featured on this page are each governed by their own license, and they may or may not be available for reuse. Click on an image or a media link to access the media data window, which provides the relevant licensing information. For the general terms and conditions of ToL material reuse and redistribution, please see the Tree of Life Copyright Policies.

Citing this page:

Rothfels, Carl. 2008. Notholaena meridionalis Mickel 2004. Southern Cloakfern. Version 23 December 2008 (under construction). http://tolweb.org/Notholaena_meridionalis/133612/2008.12.23 in The Tree of Life Web Project, http://tolweb.org/

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