Data provided by the participants of the Consortium of California Herbaria

View additional distribution information on the Jepson eflora

Myropteris covillei is a species of lip fern known by the common name Coville's lip fern. This plant is native to the southwestern United States and Baja California, where it grows in rocky crevices in the mountains and foothills. This fern has green leaves which may be up to 4-pinnate, that is, made up of leaflets that subdivide 3 times, such that the leaflets are layered with overlapping rounded segments. The leaves have a bumpy, cobbled look. The undersides of the leaves have scales which are lengthened outgrowths of the epidermis. Tucked under the scales are the sporangia, which make the spores.

Plant type

Fern

Special uses

Containers

Sun

Full Sun, Partial Shade, Deep Shade

Water

Low

Ease of care

Moderate

Site type

Crevices, bases of rocks, sun or shade

Plant communities

Chaparral, Joshua Tree Woodland, Pinyon-Juniper Woodland, Yellow Pine Forest