Australian Tropical Ferns and Lycophytes - Online edition

Cheilanthes brownii


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Close up of frond showing sori. © G. Sankowsky
Close up of frond showing sori. © G. Sankowsky
Frond. © G. Sankowsky
Habit. © G. Sankowsky
Habit. © A.R. Field
Family

Pteridaceae

Botanical name

Cheilanthes brownii (Kuhn) Domin

Link to Australian Plant Name Index for publication details and synonyms: https://id.biodiversity.org.au/name/apni/62314

Common name

Woolly Resurrection Fern

Description

Fronds to 35 cm long and 5 cm wide; stipe and rachis dark brown to black, with sparse to dense, slender, pointed hairs (6–12 cells), and very sparse scales. Lamina elliptic or lanceolate, 2 (–3)-pinnate (–4)-pinnatifid at base, larger pinnae narrow-triangular; pinnules obtuse, triangular; margins entire or lobed; upper surface with sparse to, more usually, very dense long hairs; lower surface with extremely dense, long hairs. Spores spherical, smooth or granulose, with varying amount of globular or randomly branched ornamentation or, sometimes, echinate processes; either ridged, 47–71 µm diam. and 16 per sporangium, or trilete, 34–48 µm diam. and 32 per sporangium.

Distribution

Coastal and inland regions of tropical and subtropical Australia in QLD, NT and WA.

Habit and habitat

Terrestrial in soil pockets and rock crevices in open woodland hillsides in arid, semi-arid or monsoon areas. Not usually in rainforest but sometimes on exposed granite domes in rainforest areas.

Natural history

Named after botanist Robert Brown, naturalist on Mathew Flinders circumnavigation of Australia. Brown collected the type in Arnhem Bay.

Cultivation

Best grown in a small container or in a shallow pocket of growing medium on rock in a well lit part of a tropical garden. This species does not like being kept wet all year round.

Similar species

Similar to Cheilanthes lasiophylla which has branched lamina hairs instead of the unbranched hairs found in C. brownii.

Citation of Australian Tropical Ferns and Lycophytes

Field AR, Quinn CJ, Zich FA (2022) Australian Tropical Ferns and Lycophytes. apps.lucidcentral.org/fern/text/intro/index.htm (accessed online INSERT DATE).

Field AR, Quinn CJ, Zich FA (2022) ‘Platycerium superbum’, in Australian Tropical Ferns and Lycophytes. apps.lucidcentral.org/fern/text/entities/platycerium_superbum.htm (accessed online INSERT DATE).

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