Myriopteris rawsonii

Myriopteris rawsonii is a small fern native to Namaqualand in Southern Africa. It is adapted to dry conditions, bearing a thick layer of pale hairs on the underside of its pinnate-pinnatifid leaves. One of the cheilanthoid lip ferns, it was usually classified in the genus Cheilanthes as Cheilanthes rawsonii until 2013, when the genus Myriopteris was again recognized as separate from Cheilanthes. It is the only African representative of Myriopteris, which is otherwise American. Living on rocky hillsides, it spends much of the year in a dried-out, dormant state, rehydrating and putting out new growth during winter rains. Its name honors the botanist and civil servant Sir Rawson W. Rawson.