Maxon'S Cloak Fern

Description

Stem scales strongly bicolored, margins brown, broad and well defined, thin, ciliate-denticulate. Leaves 4--15 cm. Petiole black, equal to or somewhat longer than blade, rounded adaxially, bearing scattered glands and a few scales near base. Blade narrowly deltate-pentagonal, 3--4-pinnate, 1--2 times longer than wide, abaxially with conspicuous pale yellow farina, scales absent, adaxially glabrous to sparsely glandular; basal pinnae much larger than adjacent pair, strongly inequilateral, proximal basiscopic pinnules greatly enlarged. Ultimate segments sessile to subsessile, narrowly adnate to costae or free; segment margins strongly revolute, often concealing sporangia. Sporangia containing 32 spores. n = 2 n = 90, apogamous.Sporulating summer--fall. Rocky slopes and cliffs, apparently confined to limestone; 300--1900 m; Ariz., Tex.; Mexico.Notholaena neglecta is closely related to N . californica and may have been involved in the origin of polyploids within that complex. Populations occurring in the flora are composed of apogamous triploids, but a sexually reproducing diploid cytotype has been found in Nuevo Le-n, Mexico (M. D. Windham, unpublished data).