Plant Name
Scientific Name: Notholaena standleyi
Synonyms: Cheilanthes hookeri, C. standleyi
Common Names: Star Cloak Fern, Standley's Cloak Fern
Plant Characteristics
Duration: Perennial
Growth Habit: Herb/Forb, Fern
Arizona Native Status: Native
Habitat: Desert, Upland. These attractive ferns can be found growing on rocky hillsides, typically in rock crevices or the shade of large rocks with other ferns.
Flower Color: Non-flowering
Height: To 8 inches (20 cm) tall
Description: The fronds are shiny green above, paler and yellowish below, up to 4 inches (10 cm) across, and shaped like 5-pointed stars. These desert ferns are drought tolerant and become dry, brown, and curled up with lack of rain.
Classification
Kingdom: Plantae – Plants
Subkingdom: Tracheobionta – Vascular plants
Division: Pteridophyta – Ferns
Class: Filicopsida
Order: Polypodiales
Family: Pteridaceae – Maidenhair Fern family
Genus: Notholaena R. Br. – cloak fern
Species: Notholaena standleyi Maxon – star cloak fern
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