Under Construction

Notholaena trichomanoides (L.) Desv. 1813

Caribbean Cloakfern

Carl Rothfels
Click on an image to view larger version & data in a new window
Click on an image to view larger version & data in a new window
Containing group: core Notholaena

Introduction

Notholaena trichomanoides is the type of the genus (Brown, 1810; but see Pichi Sermolli, 1989; Yatskievych and Smith, 2003). It is a species of the Caribbean, found on each of Cuba, Jamaica, Hispaniola, and Puerto Rico, and is unusual for a notholaenid in being absent from Mexico. It has linear leaves, with widely spaced, more-or-less undivided leaf segments, densely covered underneath with white farina. The farina may, in turn, be densely covered with a dense layer of dissected scales (N. trichomanoides var. trichomanoides—the Scaly Caribbean Cloakfern), or largely exposed (N. trichomanoides var. subnuda Jenm.—the Bald Caribbean Cloakfern). Both varieties occur on all four islands, frequently grow together, and appear to differ mostly (if not entirely) in only this one character (Tryon, 1956).

Characteristics

This species can be distinguished from its three Caribbean congeners (N. cubensis, N. ekmanii, and N. schaffneri) by its leaf shape and scales; N. cubensis and N. ekmanii—restricted to Cuba—are glabrous aside from their farina, as is Argyrochosma incana; N. schaffneri—restricted, in the Caribbean, to Jamaica—has narrowly elliptic leaves.

Other Names for Notholaena trichomanoides (L.) Desv. 1813

References

Brown, R. 1810. Prodromus Florae Novae Holandiae et Insulae Van-Diemen. Richard Taylor & Sons, London.

Giauque, M. F. A. 1949. Wax glands and prothallia. American Fern Journal 39:33-35.

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

NatureServe. 2008. NatureServe Explorer, Arlington, Virginia. www.natureserve.org/explorer/

Pichi Sermolli, R. E. G. 1989. Again on the typification of the generic name Notholaena R. Brown. Webbia 43:301-310.

Rothfels, C. J., M. D. Windham, A. L. Grusz, G. J. Gastony, and K. M. Pryer. 2008. Toward a monophyletic Notholaena (Pteridaceae): Resolving patterns of evolutionary convergence in xeric-adapted ferns Taxon 57:712-724.

Tryon, R. M. 1956. A revision of the American species of Notholaena. Contributions from the Gray Herbarium 179:1-106.

Windham, M. D. 1993a. Notholaena. Pages 143--149 in Flora of North America (Flora of North American Editorial Committee, ed.) Oxford University Press, New York.

Windham, M. D., and G. Yatskievych. 2003. Chromosome studies of cheilanthoid ferns (Pteridaceae: Cheilanthoideae) from the western United States and Mexico. American Journal of Botany 90:1788-1800.

Wollenweber, E. 1984. Exudate flavonoids of Mexican ferns as chemotaxonomic markers. Rev. Latinoamer. Quim. 15:3-11.

Yatskievych, G., and A. R. Smith. 2003. Typification of Notholaena R. Br. (Pteridaceae). Taxon 52:331-336.

Title Illustrations
Click on an image to view larger version & data in a new window
Click on an image to view larger version & data in a new window
Scientific Name Notholaena trichomanoides var. subnuda
Location Jamaica, Middlesex Parish. Vicinity of Arthur's Seat.
Acknowledgements Specimen scanned and reproduced with permission from the University of Utah Herbarium.
Specimen Condition Dead Specimen
Collection Herbarium specimen
Collector Ranker & Trapp 860
Image Use creative commons This media file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License - Version 3.0.
Copyright © 2008 University of Utah Herbarium
Scientific Name Notholaena trichomanoides var. subnuda
Location Jamaica, Middlesex Parish. Vicinity of Arthur's Seat.
Acknowledgements Specimen scanned and reproduced with permission from the University of Utah Herbarium.
Specimen Condition Dead Specimen
Collection Herbarium specimen
Collector Ranker & Trapp 860
Image Use creative commons This media file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License - Version 3.0.
Copyright © 2008 University of Utah Herbarium
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 trichomanoides (L.) Desv. 1813. Caribbean 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. 2008. Notholaena trichomanoides (L.) Desv. 1813. Caribbean Cloakfern. Version 23 December 2008 (under construction). http://tolweb.org/Notholaena_trichomanoides/133599/2008.12.23 in The Tree of Life Web Project, http://tolweb.org/

edit this page
close box

This page is a Tree of Life Leaf Page.

Each ToL leaf page provides a synopsis of the characteristics of a group of organisms representing a leaf at the tip of the Tree of Life. The major distinction between a leaf and a branch of the Tree of Life is that a leaf cannot generally be further subdivided into subgroups representing distinct genetic lineages.

For a more detailed explanation of the different ToL page types, have a look at the Structure of the Tree of Life page.

close box

Notholaena trichomanoides

Page Content

articles & notes

collections

people

Explore Other Groups

random page

  go to the Tree of Life home page
top