General: Coville's Lipferns (Cheilanthes covillei) are small ferns that grow in dry places. The leave blades are dissected into small, bead-like leaflets that are shiny green above and scaly brown under.

Coville's Lipfern is an uncommon component of desert vegetation communities in rocky areas on dry hillsides in the Lower Sonoran (Creosote-Bursage Flats) and Upper Sonoran (Mojave Desert Scrub) life zones. This fern usually is found in dry, shady places in rock crevices and under boulders on open, rocky hillsides in the full sun. This fern is not usually associated with water.

Family: Brake (Pteridaceae).

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Plant Form: Upright fern in rock crevices or prostrate under the edge of rocks.

Height: To about 8 inches.

Stems: Petiole whitish to reddish brown, covered with scales.

Leaves: Entire leaf (petiole and blade) to about 8-inches long, 2-inches wide, dark green. Blade 3 to 4-pinnate. Leaf segments small and rounded (like beads). Upper surfaces smooth and shiny (glabrous), lower surface concave and obscured by scales that extend beyond the leaf-segment margin.

Habitat: Dry, shady places in rock crevices and under boulders on open, rocky hillsides; sometimes in full sun. This fern is not usually associated with water.

Elevation: 2,000 to 8,000 feet.

Distribution: California to Oregon, Utah, and Arizona, and south into Mexico.

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