Note

A Quick Guide to Farinose Ferns

Carl Rothfels

The farina covering the underside of some species of Pteridaceae (Pityrogramma calomelanos in this case) can be used, with a vigorous slap, to add attractive (temporary) designs to t-shirts. We thank our model, Joao Paulo Condack, for his partially informed participation. © 2008

This page provides a short overview of farinose ferns. The majority of these ferns are cheilanthoids. The genera listed below are those that have species with the underside of their leaves densely covered with a layer of farina, a wax-like flavonoid deposit. Other taxa, including members of Pellaea, Cryptogramma, etc., may also produce farina, but in restricted locations, such as nestled among the sporangia. In brackets following the genus names is a short description of their phylogenetic affinities. 

References

Yatskievych, G., M. D. Windham, and E. Wollenweber. 1990. A reconsideration of the genus Pityrogramma (Adiantaceae) in western North America. American Fern Journal 80:9.

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 A Quick Guide to Farinose Ferns 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.

close box

This page is a note that is attached to a branch of the Tree of Life.

ToL notes provide brief accounts of characteristics, short summaries, commentaries, media files, taxonomic information, or identification tools for a given group of organisms.

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

cheilanthoids

Page Content

articles & notes

collections

people

Explore Other Groups

random page

  go to the Tree of Life home page
top