DRYOPTERIDACEAE
(Wood fern Family)
Woodsia neomexicana Windham
New Mexico cliff fern
( Fertile tetraploid)
This fern has bright green herbaceous fronds having pinnae with 3 - 7 pairs of closely spaced pinnules. The margins of the pinnules bear short one- or two-celled translucent projectins. The sporangia of ferns in the genus Woodsia have true indusia composed of several segments which originate from underneath the sori on all sides. In W. neomexicana the indusial segments are numerous and narrow. Woodsia phillipsii also has sori with filamentous indusial segments and pinnule margins with traanslucent projections, but these projections are often longer and twisted. W. phillipsii has pinnae with 7 - 18 pairs of widely spaced pinnules. W. neomexicana can be confused with Cystopteris reevesiana (see C. reevesiana).
Lobo Draw, east side of the Florida Mountains 24 May 2006
Lobo Draw, east side of the Florida Mountains 24 May 2006