Burke: Cryptogramma cascadensis vs. Cryptogramma acrostichoides

	Cryptogramma cascadensis	Cryptogramma acrostichoides
	Cascade parsley fern, Cascade rockbrake	American parsley fern, American rockbrake
Habit		Lithophytic perennials; stems decumbent to erect, many-branched from base, stout, 10-20 mm in diameter; scales bicolored, dense, broad-lanceolate to linear, up to 6 mm long and 2 mm broad.
Leaves		Leaves in dense tufts, evergreen, persistent after fading; sterile leaves spreading and 3-17 cm, fertile leaves erect and 5-25 cm; hairs minute, appressed, cylindric, dispersed along grooves of petiole and along costae and costules of upper surface of blade; petioles green to pale yellow, dark brown on lower 1/8 or less, 1-2 mm broad, firm and strawlike, not collapsed; scales bicolored or not, becoming scarce distally; blade deltate to ovate-lanceolate, 2-3-pinnate, slightly leathery, opaque; sterile leaf segments oblong to ovate-lanceolate with cuneate bases, distal 2/3-1/2 of segments crenate to dentate, often with a slightly deeper incision every 2nd tooth; fertile leaf segments horizontal to ascending, strongly differentiated from those of sterile leaves, linear, 3-12 mm long and 1-2 mm broad, margins revolute and covering sporangia.
Spores		Sporangia dispersed along veins on lower leaf surface, often interspersed with farina-producing glands, each containing 64 spores; spores yellow, tetrahedral, warty.

	Cryptogramma cascadensis	Cryptogramma acrostichoides
Habitat	Cliff crevices and talus slopes at mid- to high elevations in the mountains, occasionally descending to sea level in humid areas.	Cliff crevices and talus slopes at mid- to high elevations in the mountains
Distribution	Occurring on both sides of the Cascades crest in Washington; British Columbia to California, east to Idaho and Montana [WildflowerSearch map] [BONAP county map]	Occurring on both sides of the Cascades crest in Washington; Alaska to California, east to the Great Lakes region, Colorado, and New Mexico. [WildflowerSearch map] [BONAP county map]
Origin	Native	Native
Conservation status	Not of concern	Not of concern
Sibling taxa	C. acrostichoides, C. stelleri	C. cascadensis, C. stelleri
Web links	Local floras: BC, CA, OR, WA Local Web sites: CalFlora, CalPhotos, Flora NW, PNW Herbaria WildflowerSearch iNaturalist (observations) USDA Plants Database LBJ Wildflower Center SEINet Plants of the World Online Encyclopedia of Life Wikipedia Google Image Search	Local floras: BC, CA, OR, WA Local Web sites: CalFlora, CalPhotos, Flora NW, PNW Herbaria WildflowerSearch iNaturalist (observations) USDA Plants Database LBJ Wildflower Center SEINet Plants of the World Online Encyclopedia of Life Wikipedia Google Image Search

Cryptogramma acrostichoides

Cascade parsley fern, Cascade rockbrake

American parsley fern, American rockbrake

Habit

Lithophytic perennials; stems decumbent to erect, many-branched from base, stout, 10-20 mm in diameter; scales bicolored, dense, broad-lanceolate to linear, up to 6 mm long and 2 mm broad.

Leaves

Leaves in dense tufts, evergreen, persistent after fading;

sterile leaves spreading and 3-17 cm, fertile leaves erect and 5-25 cm;

hairs minute, appressed, cylindric, dispersed along grooves of petiole and along costae and costules of upper surface of blade;

petioles green to pale yellow, dark brown on lower 1/8 or less, 1-2 mm broad, firm and strawlike, not collapsed;

scales bicolored or not, becoming scarce distally;

blade deltate to ovate-lanceolate, 2-3-pinnate, slightly leathery, opaque; sterile leaf segments oblong to ovate-lanceolate with cuneate bases, distal 2/3-1/2 of segments crenate to dentate, often with a slightly deeper incision every 2nd tooth; fertile leaf segments horizontal to ascending, strongly differentiated from those of sterile leaves, linear, 3-12 mm long and 1-2 mm broad, margins revolute and covering sporangia.

Spores

Sporangia dispersed along veins on lower leaf surface, often interspersed with farina-producing glands, each containing 64 spores; spores yellow, tetrahedral, warty.