Notholaena californica
Notholaena californica is a species of fern known by the common name California cloak fern. It is native to southern California and Arizona in the United States, and in adjacent north-western Mexico, where it grows in dry and rocky conditions, often in desert and chaparral habitats.
| Notholaena californica | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Notholaena californica ssp. californica | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Class: | Polypodiopsida |
| Order: | Polypodiales |
| Family: | Pteridaceae |
| Genus: | Notholaena |
| Species: | N. californica |
| Binomial name | |
| Notholaena californica | |
Description
The leaves are divided into often asymmetrical leaflets which are subdivided into lobed segments, the leaf measuring 3 to 20 centimeters in total length, not counting the long, brown petiole. It is hairless and lacks scales. The leaf is covered in grainy exudate known as farina.
- Chemotypes
The fern comes in two chemotypes which can be distinguished by the color of the farina, white or yellow, and the two are rarely found growing together.[1] The two chemotypes are sometimes treated as subspecies.[1]
Subspecies
- Notholaena californica ssp. californica' '— Transverse Ranges, Peninsular Ranges [2]
- Notholaena californica ssp. leucophylla — endemic to northwest San Gabriel Mountains, east San Jacinto Mountain.[3]