Aspidotis

{{Short description|Genus of ferns}} {{Automatic taxobox | image = Aspidotis densa BB-1913.jpg | image_caption = ''Aspidotis densa'' | taxon = Aspidotis | authority = (Nutt. ex Hook.) Copel. | subdivision_ranks = Species | subdivision = See text. }}

'''''Aspidotis''''' is a small genus of leptosporangiate ferns known commonly as '''laceferns'''. Most species are native to slopes, ridges, and rocky outcroppings, primarily in California and Mexico,<ref name="Flora93">{{cite book|editor=Flora of North America Editorial Committee|title=Pteridophytes and Gymnosperms|series=Flora of North America: North of Mexico|volume=2|publisher=Oxford University Press|date=4 Nov 1993|isbn=978-0-19-508242-5|pages=170–171}}</ref> although one species included in the genus by some authorities is widely distributed in eastern Africa.<ref name="Beentje02">{{cite book |editor-last=Beentje|editor-first=H. J.|editor-link=Henk Jaap Beentje|title=Flora of Tropical East Africa - Adiantaceae|pages=2–3|publisher=A. A. Balkema Publishers|date=1 Jun 2002|isbn=978-90-5809-410-0|ref=Beentje02|title-link=Flora of Tropical East Africa}}</ref>

==Description== Members of ''Aspidotis'' are small ferns, with shiny, tufted fronds generally less than 35 centimeters long (although ''A. schimperi'' may be larger<ref name="Beentje02" />). Fertile leaves have false indusia formed by the leaves' inrolled margins, which partially conceal the spore-bearing sori.<ref name="Flora93" /><ref name="Smith75">{{cite journal|last=Smith|first=A. Reid|title=The Californian species of Aspidotis|journal=Madroño|volume=23|issue=1|pages=15–24|year=1975}}</ref>

==Taxonomy== The taxonomy of laceferns has been considerably refined since they were first described in the late 1800s. Species currently placed in ''Aspidotis'' were originally assigned to a section of ''Hypolepis'', then to ''Cheilanthes''. David Lellinger established ''Aspidotis'' as a distinct genus based on characteristic features of its false indusia and its leaves, including their shiny surface,<ref name="Lell68">{{cite journal|last=Lellinger|first=David B.|author-link=David B. Lellinger|title=A Note on ''Aspidotis''|journal=American Fern Journal|volume=58|issue=3|pages=140–141|year=1968|doi=10.2307/1546553|jstor=1546553}}</ref> although as late as the 1990 publication of the Kubitzki system, these ferns were sometimes still included in ''Cheilanthes''.<ref>{{cite book|editor1-last=Kramer|editor1-first=K.U.|editor2-last=Green|editor2-first=P.S.|editor3-last=Kubitzki|editor3-first=K.|title=Pteridophytes and Gymnosperms|series=The Families and Genera of Vascular Plants|volume=1|publisher=Springer|date=Jan 1990|page=242|isbn=978-3-540-51794-8}}</ref>

===Species=== {{As of|2020|January}}, the ''Checklist of Ferns and Lycophytes of the World'' recognized five species,<ref name=CFLW/> including one identified as a fertile interspecific hybrid.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Wagner Jr.|first1=W.H.|author-link1=Warren H. Wagner|last2=Gilbert|first2=Elizabeth F.|title=An Unusual New Cheilanthoid Fern from California|journal=American Journal of Botany|volume=44|issue=9|date=Nov 1957|pages=738–743|doi=10.2307/2438394|jstor=2438394}}</ref> *''Aspidotis californica'' (Nutt. ex Hook.) Nutt. ex Copel. – California lacefern *''Aspidotis carlotta-halliae'' (Wagner & E. F. Gilbert) Lellinger – Carlotta Hall's lacefern or tufted lacefern, a fertile hybrid of ''A. californica'' and ''A. densa'', endemic to California *''Aspidotis densa'' (Brack.) Lellinger – cliffbrake or Indian's dream *''Aspidotis meifolia'' (D.C.Eaton) Pic.Serm. – endemic to Mexico *''Aspidotis schimperi'' (Kunze) Pic. Serm. – the African species

Other species of plants commonly known as laceferns are not part of ''Aspidotis'' and are often not closely related. ''Microlepia strigosa'' is from a different order of ferns, and ''Asparagus setaceus'' is not a fern at all.

==Ecology== Ferns in this genus grow in a variety of conditions, from low woodland slopes,<ref name="Beentje02" /> to chaparral, to higher-elevation ridges, to marginal habitats like rocky crevices and the bases of boulders.<ref name="Flora93" /><ref name="Smith75" />

Some laceferns show an affinity for serpentine soil. In particular, disjunct populations of ''A. densa'' in eastern North America are edaphic endemics.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Harris|first1=Tanner|last2=Rajakaruna|first2=Nishanta|title=''Adiantum viridimontanum'', ''Aspidotis densa'', ''Minuartia marcescens'', and ''Symphyotrichum rhiannon'': Additional Serpentine Endemics from Eastern North America|journal=Northeastern Naturalist|volume=16|issue=sp5|year=2009|pages=111–120|doi=10.1656/045.016.0509|s2cid=54871497|url=https://digitalcommons.calpoly.edu/bio_fac/514|url-access=subscription}}</ref> ''A. carlotta-halliae'' and the West Coast populations of ''A. densa'' are commonly associated with these ultramafic soils but are not restricted to them.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Howell|first=John Thomas|author-link=John Thomas Howell|title=The Endemic Pteridophytes of the California Floral Province|journal=American Fern Journal|volume=50|issue=1|date=Jan–Mar 1960|pages=15–25|doi=10.2307/1545239|jstor=1545239}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Safford| first1=H. D.|last2=Viers |first2=J. H. |last3=Harrison |first3=S. P. |title=Serpentine Endemism in the California Flora: A Database of Serpentine Affinity|journal=Madroño|volume=52|issue=4|pages=222–257|year=2005 |doi=10.3120/0024-9637(2005)52[222:seitcf]2.0.co;2| s2cid=84632195| url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/part/169127}}</ref>

==Etymology== Not all authorities agree on the exact etymology of ''Aspidotis''. In all cases, the name is derived from Greek, and refers to the distinctive shield-like false indusium found especially in ''A. californica''. Some authors suggest ασπιδοτες (shield-bearer)<ref name="Flora93" /> as the intended origin, while others claim ασπιδος-ωτος (shield-eared).<ref>{{cite book|last=Gledhill|first=David|title=The Names of Plants|url=https://archive.org/details/namesplants00gled_746|url-access=limited|edition=4th|publisher=Cambridge University Press|page=[https://archive.org/details/namesplants00gled_746/page/n68 59]|date=17 Mar 2008|isbn=978-0-521-86645-3}}</ref>

==References== {{Reflist|refs= <ref name=CFLW>{{Citation |mode=cs1 |last1=Hassler |first1=Michael |last2=Schmitt |first2=Bernd |date=November 2019 |contribution=Oeosporangium |title=Checklist of Ferns and Lycophytes of the World |at=8.11 |url=https://worldplants.webarchiv.kit.edu/ferns/ |accessdate=2020-01-01 |name-list-style=amp |archive-date=2017-09-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170902225743/https://worldplants.webarchiv.kit.edu/ferns/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> }}

Category:Pteridaceae Category:Fern genera