Cladus: Eukaryota
Regnum: Plantae
Divisio: Pteridophyta
Subdivisio: Pterophyta
Classis: Pteridopsida
Ordo: Pteridales
Familia: Pteridaceae
Subfamilia: Cheilanthoideae
Genus: Cheilanthes
-------------
Cheilanthes (lip ferns) is a genus of about 180 species of rock-dwelling ferns with a cosmopolitan distribution in warm, dry, rocky regions, often growing in small crevices high up on cliffs. Most are small, sturdy and evergreen. The leaves, often densely covered in hair, spring directly from the rootstocks. Many of them are desert ferns, curling up during dry times and reviving with the coming of moisture. At the ends of veins sporangia, or spore-bearing structures, are protected by leaf margins, which curl over them.
This genus is now known to be highly paraphyletic, comprising at least four generically separate groups. The type species, C. micropteris, is most closely allied to the genera Aleuritopteris and Sinopteris (Schuettpelz et al).
Selected species
* Cheilanthes acrostica (Balb.) Tod.
* Cheilanthes adiantoides T.C.Chambers & P.A.Farrant
* Cheilanthes aemula Maxon
* Cheilanthes alabamensis (Buckley) Kunze
* Cheilanthes arizonica (Maxon) Mickel
* Cheilanthes austrotenuifolia H.M.Quirk & T.C.Chambers
* Cheilanthes bonariensis (Willd.) Proctor
* Cheilanthes brownii (Kuhn) Domin
* Cheilanthes catanensis (Cosent.) H.P.Fuchs
* Cheilanthes caudata R.Br.
* Cheilanthes cavernicola D.L.Jones
* Cheilanthes clevelandii D.C.Eaton
* Cheilanthes contigua Baker
* Cheilanthes cooperae D.C.Eaton
* Cheilanthes covillei Maxon
* Cheilanthes distans (R.Br.) Mett.
* Cheilanthes eatonii Baker
* Cheilanthes feei T.Moore
* Cheilanthes fendleri Hook.
* Cheilanthes fragillima F.Muell.
* Cheilanthes glauca (Cav.) Mett.
* Cheilanthes gracillima D.C.Eaton
* Cheilanthes guanchica Bolle
* Cheilanthes hirsuta (Poir.) Mett.
* Cheilanthes hispanica Mett.
* Cheilanthes horridula Maxon
* Cheilanthes humilis (G.Forst.) P.S.Green
* Cheilanthes intertexta (Maxon) Maxon
* Cheilanthes intramarginalis (Kaulf. ex Link) Hook.
* Cheilanthes kaulfussii Kunze
* Cheilanthes lanosa (Michx.) D.C.Eaton
* Cheilanthes lasiophylla Pic.Serm.
* Cheilanthes lendigera (Cav.) Sw.
* Cheilanthes leucopoda Link
* Cheilanthes lindheimeri Hook.
* Cheilanthes maderensis Lowe
* Cheilanthes microphylla (Sw.) Sw.
* Cheilanthes micropteris Sw. (the type species of this genus)
* Cheilanthes newberryi (D.C.Eaton) Domin
* Cheilanthes nitida (R.Br.) P.S.Green
* Cheilanthes nudiuscula (R.Br.) T.Moore
* Cheilanthes parryi (D.C.Eaton) Domin
* Cheilanthes paucijuga Baker
* Cheilanthes peninsularis
o Cheilanthes peninsularis var. insularis
* Cheilanthes persica (Bory) Mett. ex Kuhn
* Cheilanthes pinnatifida D.L.Jones
* Cheilanthes praetermissa D.L.Jones
* Cheilanthes prenticei Luerss.
* Cheilanthes pringlei Davenport
* Cheilanthes pseudovellea (H.M.Quirk & T.C.Chambers) D.L.Jones
* Cheilanthes pteroides Sw.
* Cheilanthes pulchella Bory ex Willd.
* Cheilanthes pumilio (R.Br.) F.Muell.
* Cheilanthes sciadioides Domin
* Cheilanthes sieberi Kunze
* Cheilanthes tenuifolia (Burm.f.) Sw.
* Cheilanthes tinaei Tod.
* Cheilanthes tomentosa Link
* Cheilanthes vellea (Aiton) F.Muell.
* Cheilanthes villosa Davenport ex Maxon
* Cheilanthes viscida Davenport
* Cheilanthes wootonii Maxon
* Cheilanthes wrightii Hook.
* Cheilanthes yavapensis T.Reeves ex Windham
Cheilanthes glauca is a small fern native from Andes mountains of southern central Chile. Its habitat include rough rocky soils frequently covered by snow and windy and hot during the summer.
Works cited
* Germplasm Resources Information Network: Cheilanthes
* "Cheilanthes Sw.". Australian Plant Name Index (APNI), IBIS database. Centre for Plant Biodiversity Research, Australian Government. http://www.anbg.gov.au/cgi-bin/apni?taxon_id=7697.
* Flora Europaea: Cheilanthes
* Flora of North America: Cheilanthes
* Cheilanthes glauca pictures from Chilebosque.
* "lip fern." Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 30 Nov 2007.
