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Astrolepis resources
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     sinuata

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    Thelypteris  Woodsia
    Woodwardia
 
Astrolepis D. M. Benham & Windham (Pteridaceae) Earlier placement: Adiantaceae, Cheilanthaceae, Sinopteridaceae, Parkeriaceae

Star-scaled cloak fern

Etymology Greek: Astro, star + lepis, scale. This refers to the starlike scales on the upper blade surface.
Description Rhizome: short-creeping, scales tan to chestnut brown, linear.
Frond: evergreen, monomorphic.
Stipe: dull chestnut brown or straw-colored, rounded above, scaly, vascular bundles: 2.
Blade: 1-pinnate, the pinnae varying from lobed to pinnatifid, linear, leathery, star-shaped scales on the upper surface.
Pinnae: 3-6 lobes per pinna, veins obscure, free, forking.
Sori: clustered near notches between pinna lobes, along veins near margin, indusium: absent, sporangia: light to dark brown.
Distinctive Characteristics The combination of linear, pinnate leaves, two vascular bundles in the petioles, and unique star-like scales on the upper blade surface separate Astrolepis from the related Cheilanthes.
Astrolepis
Astrolepis has star-like scales on the upper surface, best seen with a hand lens.
 from Vascular Plants of the Gila Wilderness at wnmu.edu
Notes
Taxonomy The defining paper on this genus is "Generic Affinities among the Star-scaled Cloak Ferns" D.M. Benham and M.D. Windham, American Fern Journal, 82: 47-58 (1992). Astrolepis means star-scaled.
Astrolepis
Astrolepis. Pinna from A. sinuata with star-shaped scales, a signature characteristic of the genus.  Scan: Tom Stuart
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