I suppose this is a kind of fern. But I could not find a match to any listed Utah fern species. I found it on the top of Wolverine Mountain, Wasatch range, at 10,760 feet (3,280 meters). Does anyone know what this could be?
How many growing in the population and what was the population density? I suppose it could be a fern, but I wouldn't rule out something from a flowering plant family just yet -- that small leaf at the base doesn't shout fern to me.
It is difficult to say about population - I stumbled upon this plant in the pile of granite slabs on the mount top. Did not thing it would be so difficult. Now, I definitely have to go back and look around. And this lobed leaf also has sporangia below. Actually, all leaves are slightly lobed; the lobes turn into wavy edges and then disappear as we go from the base to the top of the plant.
Agree, not a fern; ferns don't have that sort of leaf petiole structure. I'd say a flowering plant, infected with a rust fungus disease which is sporulating - the spore patches are also too irregular in shape and (lack of any) pattern to be fern sporangia. Look for flowers, but quite possible it may not have any due to being debilitated by its disease.
OK, I believe you. I went there today and there was no "population" there. Only a single fern plant hidden in the crevice and completely different. My strange "fern" is growing only in one spot occupied by some Brassicaceae (I resolved it to <i>Rorippa</i> and stuck) that happens to have lobed to pinnatifid leaves. Only few stems growing independently from the ground are affected by the fungus. And what a change! The development of the stem and leaves completely screwed.
