Hemionitis fallax

{{Short description|Species of ferns}} {{Speciesbox | image = Mildella fallax (1).jpg | taxon = Hemionitis fallax | authority = (M.Martens & Galeotti) ined.<ref name=POWO/> | synonyms = * ''Mildella fallax'' (M.Martens & Galeotti) G.L.Nesom * ''Mildella intramarginalis'' var. ''serratifolia'' (Hook. & Baker) C.C.Hall & Lellinger * ''Pellaea intramarginalis'' var. ''serratifolia'' Hook. & Baker * ''Pteris fallax'' M.Martens & Galeotti }}

'''''Hemionitis fallax''''' is a species of maidenhair fern in the family Pteridaceae.<ref name=POWO>{{cite taxon |POWO |id=3321123-4 |title=''Hemionitis fallax'' (M.Martens & Galeotti) ined. |access-date=February 2, 2026}}</ref>

==Description== As with most other members of its family, this fern's spore-producing sori develop along the margins of the many-divided leaves' undersurfaces, where the margins are reflexed, providing shelter for the sori. These underturned fern-leaf margins are usually referred to as "false indusia". thumbnail|left|False indusia on leaf underside In highland central Mexico, ''Hemionitis fallax'' differs from a second Mexican species, ''H. intramarginalis'', in that the underturned margins of ''H fallax'' are roughly serrate, or saw-toothed, while the underturned margins of ''H. intramarginalis'' are only slightly saw-toothed, or serrulate.<ref name="baj">{{cite journal | last1 = Velázquez Montes | first1 = Enesto | title = Familia Pteridaceae | journal = Flora del Bajío y de Regiones Adyacentes | volume = 210 | pages = 176-178 | date = 2019 | language = Spanish | url = http://inecolbajio.inecol.mx/floradelbajio/documentos/fasciculos/ordinarios/Pteridaceae%20210.pdf}}</ref>

==Distribution and habitat== ''Hemionitis fallax'' is found from Sinaloa and Tamaulipas in northern Mexico to northern Guatemala.<ref name="baj" />

''Hemionitis fallax'' occurs in rocky areas and ravines, in forests of oak, oak-pine, fir, tropical deciduous, mesophytic forests in the mountains, and pasturelands.<ref name="baj" />

==Taxonomy== ''Hemionitis fallax'' was first described in the genus ''Pteris'' in 1842, and has also been considered by some taxonomists as a subspecies of ''Hemionitis intramarginalis''. Modern taxonomists are not all in agreement as to which genus this taxon belongs, with some authorities not yet recognising the synonymy of the genera ''Mildella'' or ''Aleuritopteris'' with the genus ''Hemionitis''<ref>{{Catalogue of Life|id=KTT5G|title=Aleuritopteris fallax (M.Martens & Galeotti) Windham & Schuettp.|option=taxon|access-date=August 30, 2025}}</ref><ref name="gbif">{{Citation | title = Mildella fallax (M.Martens & Galeotti) G.L.Nesom | publisher = Global Biodiversity Information Facility | url = https://www.gbif.org/species/3747498 | access-date = August 30, 2025}}</ref>

==References== {{Reflist}}

Category:Pteridaceae Category:Flora of Guatemala Category:Ferns of Mexico Category:Ferns of the Americas Category:Taxa named by Martin Martens Category:Taxa named by Henri Guillaume Galeotti