THELYPTERIDACEAE

THELYPTERIS FAMILY

Alan R. Smith and Thomas Lemieux

Plants in soil; rhizome short- to long-creeping, scales generally hairy, uniformly brownish
Leaf: petiole in transverse section at base with 2 crescent-shaped vascular strands; blade generally with needle-like, clear hairs on axes or between veins; 1° and 2° axes generally grooved on upper surface, grooves not continuous from one axis to next; veins free or lowest pair running together at or near deepest part of sinus
Sporangia in generally round sori on veins; indusia reniform or round-reniform; stalk cells in 3 rows; spores elliptic, scar linear
Genera in family: 1–30 genera (depending on interpretation), ± 900 species: worldwide, especially tropical; several cultivated.

THELYPTERIS

Leaf: blade 1–2-pinnate; 1° leaflets pinnately lobed
Reference: [Smith 1971 Univ Calif Publ Bot 59:1–143]

Native

T. puberula (Baker) C.V. Morton var. sonorensis A.R. Sm.

SONORAN MAIDEN FERN

Rhizome creeping, 3–8 mm wide
Leaves regularly spaced, generally 50–120 cm, 15–30 cm wide; petiole scales lanceolate, brown, not persistent; blade thick, lower surface ± without glands, with non-glandular hairs moderate to dense on axes, veins, and between veins
Sporangia: indusia densely hairy
Ecology: UNCOMMON. Along streams, seepage areas
Elevation: 50–550 m.
Bioregional distribution: South Coast, Western Transverse Ranges, San Gabriel Mountains, San Jacinto Mountains
Distribution outside California: to Arizona, s Mexico
Synonyms: Lastrea augescens (Link) Houlston misapplied
Rarely cultivated in s CA. Var. puberula is found from Mex to Costa Rica
Horticultural information: WET: 17, 24 &SHD: 16, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23; GRCVR.