Hairy lipfern

Description

Myriopteris lanosa (Synonym; Cheilanthes lanosa), the hairy lip fern, is a moderately-sized fern of the eastern United States, a member of the family Pteridaceae. Its leaves and stem are sparsely covered in hairs, but lack scales, hence its common name. One of the cheilanthoid ferns, it was usually classified in the genus Cheilanthes until 2013, when the genus Myriopteris was again recognized as separate from Cheilanthes. It typically grows in shallow, dry, soil, often in rocky habitats. Leaf bases are closely spaced along the rhizome, which is generally 4 to 8 millimeters (0.2 to 0.3 in) in diameter and rarely branched. The rhizome bears persistent scales, which are linear to slightly lance-shaped, distantly toothed, straight or slightly twisted, and loosely pressed against the surface of the rhizome. Most of them are brown in color, but at least a few will show a thin, dark central stripe, which does not stand out well from the rest of the scale color. The fronds spring up in clusters and emerge as fiddleheads (circinate vernation). When mature, they are 7 to 50 centimeters (2.8 to 19.7 in) long and 1.5 to 5 centimeters (0.59 to 1.97 in) wide. Fertile and sterile fronds are similar in appearance. The stipe (the stalk of the leaf, below the blade) is 3 to 18 centimeters (1.2 to 7.1 in) long. It is dark brown to purplish-black in color, with many long, persistent, dark-jointed hairs. The upper surface is rounded.