A socially distanced Sunday saunter in South Mountain Park, Pt. #2... Hunting for Spores..

[Silas_Sancona]

Over in the " World of Ferns " Thread, i shared an article related to the basic cultivation of.. and " how to germinate "  a specific section of Ferns that are practically absent from cultivation. Those available tend to be pricey.  Part of the reason for the rarity is many of the Xeric-type Ferns tend to be a touch picky in the garden. Unlike many other types, these are Ferns that want a well defined dry period, and rot if kept too wet. They also want their feet cool, say under a large rock, and their tops in some sun/ full sun.

People who have made the error in judgement attempting to collect specimens from the wild quickly discover they don't transplant well or struggle. In many cases, it is likely illegal to collect several species w/out a permit in many places. Still, the allure of a Fern that can withstand a lot of heat, and drought makes most in the group excellent candidates for including in the dry garden either among typical desert-y things, or mixed among the boulders below drought tolerant Palms, etc. This group is a personal favorite as well.

Reading over the article carefully, and some others,  decided to try out the suggested guidance on how to propagate them from Spores. While wild- collected plants are challenging, at best,  Spore -produced plants appear to be less of a challenge and can adapt to garden life better.

I also wanted to search out additional locations of a locally native species of Lip Fern,  ( Genus Myriopteris  )since only a few observations of it have been made in South Mountain. It, Myriopteris Parryi  ( Parry's Lip Fern ) and  Star Cloak fern, Notholaena standleyi are two of the regions most attractive Ferns as well, at least up this way. Several other attractive, and even rarer Xeric Ferns occur down by Tucson and in the mountains near/ south of the U.S./ Mexico Border. As dry as it has been, wasn't sure if i would find any specimens, of either species, which would have fresh/open fronds. Luckily, i'd find plenty of both... and possibly another Myriopteris species, and another fern that has no observations from the area.

As far as collecting.. While yanking a plant is never advised, snipping a few fertile fronds here and there does no damage. Plants will replace them once it rains again.  As intimidating as germinating Spores might sound, directions given in the article seem to simplify the technique. While the article focus on a couple specific Myriopteris species, the technique should work for most of the other ferns in the Cheilanthoideae sub-family.  Will document and share this experiment.

Star Cloak Fern, Notholaena standleyi : A Fern, that looks like green Snowflakes. While i saw none of these at the lowest elevations along the trail, started encountering them about half way up the trail to Hidden Valley. Very common there under pretty much every ledge i looked under.















Golden Back to the leaves only adds to this species attractiveness. A sister species in California has whitish backed leaves.



Parry's Lip Fern, Myriopteris parryi : As cool as any fern can be.. how about one that is ...Fuzzy.. 

Been hoping to see this one up close and personal..   Didn't take long to find some of these. Were very plentiful up in Hidden Valley as well ( no observations of it made on Inaturalist ) A bit tough to locate when completely dry ( and half- eaten by Rabbits, Desert Squirrels, birds, etc ) but the fuzzy look gives it away when you know what to look for..













Parry's Lip,  Star Cloak,   ....and the mystery Pellaea ( not pictured here ),  ...in the same spot  ..Fern Trifecta!


They even grow upside down.. ( picture is in the correct position )



Mystery Lip Fern.. Possibly Coville's Lip Fern, Myriopteris covillei : While not the best specimen.  **Notice the difference in dried fronds/ open fronds compared to Parry's Lip Fern**.  If Coville's, it may be the first observation made here. On Inaturalist, observations of this species are noted from east and north of Phoenix, and down toward Tucson. Plan on re-checking later, esp. if we get some rain.





Mystery Pellaea ( CliffBrake/ Coffe Fern ) species. While plenty common in other places i have explored, there are no observations of any Pellaea sp. in South Mountain.. Ironic that i found this single specimen growing alongside Star Cloaks, and Parry Lip Ferns, under the same ledge. **Apologize in advance the picture is a bit out of focus**.



Also throwing in some images of an interesting Xeric Bryophyte, a type of Liverwort, ( Complex Thalloid Liverwort, Class Marchantiopsida ) No idea on the species, but dry, it creates a very interesting pattern on the rocks/sand it grows in/over. Once rain returns, it will resurrect itself and become lush and green.








As hot as the desert is, lots of cool diversity to found when you take some time to look between the stones... Only thing missing, here at least?.. Some Brahea growing in the canyons..

Enjoy,
Nathan