I don’t think Kevin is going to help with this one Ciaran so would you unveil your thoughts please? I don’t expect a confirmation but do you think it might be Cheilanthes sp.?
I have ben away. The hairs below one frond may suggest C. distans, but this may be because it is a young plant of either spp. I am not going to commit myeslf.
Hey Ciaran - any way you can add Cheilanthes sp as an option? If Kevin thinks it might be C. distans I don’t feel comfortable with it being identified as C. sieberi.
I mean, it would we could easily add it here. You just need to make the suggestion off the global list. But I am still happy calling this C.sieberi, the upper surface appears glabrous which rules out distans. The fronds are also pretty narrow, which makes it fairly unlikey for them to be C.austrotenuifolia, i have found that this species has pretty broad fronds even when young.
Ciaran - no offence but Kevin literally wrote the book, Ferns of the South Coast, and if he doesn’t want to go beyond genus, that is my preference. Also, I have no idea how to choose from the global list.
From Entwisle, T.J. (1994). Ferns and allied plants (Psilophyta, Lycopodiophyta, Polypodiophyta)
Cheilanthes distans:
Undersurface of pinnules thickly beset with hairs and/or scales; lamina dark green to grey-green
Cheilanthes austrotenuifolia:
Lamina mostly 3–10 cm wide, triangular to ovate, 3-pinnate; pinnae close together; undersurface of rachis and midrib with scattered fine scales and few hairs
Cheilanthes sieberi:
Lamina mostly 2–3 cm wide, oblong to ovate, 2-pinnate (or 3-pinnate near base); pinnae well separated; undersurface of rachis and midrib with scattered segmented hairs (many appressed and glandular) and few scales
Employing this, Lisa's images contain enough detail to confirm C.sieberi. Her second image is particularly useful. I realise that is not possible to assign a species ID based soley upon the compressed images presented by Naturemapr, and I would encourage all interested to view the original photographs as is possible with moderator status.
The lamina of these plants is oblong or ovate, certainly not triangular. The pinnae are well seperated and are paired. The undersurface is not thickly beset with hairs, and the foliage is light-green. I note that these points are not my own, and hence should be considered irrespective of my perceived knowledge or experience.