Notholaena grayi
Notholaena grayi Davenp.
subsp. grayi, (for Asa Gray, 1810–1888, pre-eminent Harvard botanist who was a pioneer in the study of plant geography and author of Manual of the Botany of the Northern United States, widely known as “Gray’s Manual”)
Local names: Gray’s cloak fern
Leaves usually 20 cm or less long; leaf blades linearlanceolate, 2-pinnate-pinnatifid, 3–6 times longer than wide, the lower surface with whitish farina and linnotholaena ear to narrowly lanceolate entire scales, the upper surface glabrous except for scattered, tiny, sessile glands, the basal pinnae } the same size as adjacent pair, without greatly enlarged proximal basiscopic pinnules, the ultimate leaf segments sessile, the margins of the ultimate segments only slightly recurved; n = 2n = 90 (Windham 1993f). Granite or limestone substrates, on talus, in crevices, other rocky areas; Brewster (Warnock 20245, 20247, TEX-LL), Jeff Davis (Correll 1956), and Presidio (Warnock 382, SRSC) cos. in the Trans-Pecos and Burnet (Correll & Correll 12732, 12734, BRIT, TEX-LL, Granite Mt.), Llano (Seigler 1977; Seigler et al. 1514, cited as being at TEX-LL, but specimen cannot be located), and Uvalde (Correll 1956) cos. on the Edwards Plateau; AZ, NM, and TX; also n Mexico. Sporulating Mar–Oct. [Cheilanthes grayi (Davenp.) Domin, Chrysochosma grayii (Davenp.) Davenp.] Windham (1993f) indicated that subsp. grayi, characterized by 16 spores per sporangium, is made up of apogamous triploids, whereas subsp. sonorensis Windham, of AZ and w Mexico and characterized by 32 spores per sporangium, represents sexually reproducing diploids. This species is most similar to N. aliena and distinguished as in the key. Because of its rareness and limited distribution in the state, we consider this species to be of conservation concern in TX.