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Notholaena brevistipes Mickel 2004

Aldama Cloakfern

Carl Rothfels
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Containing group: core Notholaena

Introduction

This species is known from a single hillside and associated roadside rockcut in southern Tamaulipas, near the town of Aldama. A moderately open dry deciduous forest of spiny Fabaceae, Croton, Ceratozamia, and grasses dominates the hillside; the Notholaena is restricted to pockets at the base of rocks, or, most commonly, the face of the rockcut itself.

This location—deep in Mexico’s Gulf coastal plain—is unusual for any notholaenid, almost all of which are restricted to higher elevation sites that have more abundant rocky habitats. Notholaena brevistipes was first described in 2004 (Mickel & Smith, 2004).

Characteristics

Notholaena brevistipes is a well-behaved member of the core Notholaena I clade: it is strongly white farinose beneath, with linear (slightly elliptical) leaves, and has scattered scales and hairs on the stalks and rachises. For a discussion of similar species, see the Phylogenetic Relationships section, below. The only time I have been able to see this species, unfortunately, Mexico was still in a drought, and thus all the plants were dormant, with their leaves curled up.

Discussion of Phylogenetic Relationships

Notholaena brevistipes is very likely closely related to another species that is also known from a single location—Notholaena brachycaulis. Both species have very short stalks (the leaf lobes start close to the point where the leaf branches off from the rhizome), but brevistipes has more pinna pairs, each with fewer lobes, and is white rather than yellow farinose (Mickel & Smith, 2004). Notholaena brachycaulis has not yet been included in any phylogenetic analyses.

Other Names for Notholaena brevistipes Mickel 2004

References

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

Title Illustrations
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Scientific Name Notholaena brevistipes
Location Tamaulipas, Mexico
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 © 2009 Carl Rothfels
Scientific Name Notholaena brevistipes
Location Tamaulipas, Mexico
Image Use creative commons This media file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License - Version 3.0.
Copyright © 2009 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 brevistipes Mickel 2004. Aldama 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. 2010. Notholaena brevistipes Mickel 2004. Aldama Cloakfern. Version 07 January 2010 (under construction). http://tolweb.org/Notholaena_brevistipes/133592/2010.01.07 in The Tree of Life Web Project, http://tolweb.org/

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