Pellaea breweri |
Pellaea andromedifolia |
|
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Brewer's cliff-brake, Brewer's cliffbrake fern |
coffee cliffbrake, coffee fern |
|
Stems | compact, ascending, stout, 5–10 mm diam.; scales uniformly reddish brown, linear-subulate, 0.1–0.3 mm wide, thin, margins sinuous, nearly entire. |
creeping, horizontal, slender, 2–4 mm diam.; scales mostly bicolored, narrowly lanceolate, largest scales 0.3–0.8 mm wide, centers black, thick, margins brown, thin, irregularly dentate. |
Leaves | monomorphic, clustered on stem, 2.5–20 cm; croziers sparsely villous. |
monomorphic, scattered along stem, 10–60 cm; croziers not conspicuously pubescent, densely scaly. |
Petiole | brown, lustrous, rounded adaxially, with prominent articulation lines near base. |
straw-colored, tan, or gray, not lustrous, rounded or slightly flattened adaxially, without prominent articulation lines. |
Blade | linear-oblong, pinnate-pinnatifid proximally, 1–4 cm wide; rachis brown proximally, green distally, straight, rounded adaxially, glabrous to sparsely villous. |
elongate-deltate, usually 3-pinnate proximally, 3–20 cm wide; rachis tan throughout, straight to slightly flexuous, rounded or flattened adaxially, glabrous or pubescent. |
Ultimate segments | lanceolate-deltate, 5–25 mm, herbaceous, glabrous; margins recurved on fertile segments, covering less than 1/2 abaxial surface, borders whitish, erose-denticulate; apex obtuse or rounded. |
elliptic to ovate, 3–15 mm, somewhat herbaceous, glabrous to sparsely pubescent abaxially; margins recurved on fertile segments, usually covering less than 1/2 abaxial surface, borders whitish, entire; apex retuse to rounded. |
Pinnae | ascending or perpendicular to rachis, decurrent on rachis, deeply 2-lobed (mitten-shaped) near base of leaf; costae absent. |
ascending or perpendicular to rachis, not decurrent on rachis, with 8–50 ultimate segments; costae usually straight, 15–140 mm, longer than ultimate segments. |
Veins | of ultimate segments evident. |
of ultimate segments evident. |
Sporangia | sessile or subsessile, containing 64 spores, not intermixed with farina-producing glands. |
short-stalked, containing 64 or 32 spores, not intermixed with farina-producing glands. |
2n | = 58. |
= 58; n = 2n = 87, 116, apogamous. |
Pellaea breweri |
Pellaea andromedifolia |
|
Phenology | Sporulating summer–fall. | Sporulating late spring–summer. |
Habitat | Cliffs and rocky slopes, on a variety of substrates including granite and limestone | Rocky slopes and ledges, usually on igneous substrates |
Elevation | 1600–3800 m (5200–12500 ft) | 0–1500 m (0–4900 ft) |
Distribution |
CA; CO; ID; MT; NV; OR; UT; WA; WY
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CA; OR; Mexico in Baja California
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Discussion | Pellaea breweri is distinguished from other North American taxa (except for some populations of P. glabella) by the presence of prominent articulation lines near the base of the petiole. The leaves are easily detached, and many herbarium specimens consist of separate leaves and stems, the latter covered with petiole bases of approximately equal length. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Pellaea andromedifolia comprises three cytotypes: a sexually reproducing diploid, an apogamous triploid, and an apogamous tetraploid. Isozyme studies by G. J. Gastony and L. D. Gottlieb (1985) suggested that the apogamous triploid is an autopolyploid derived from sexual diploid populations. The apogamous tetraploid apparently resulted from hybridization between diploid and triploid individuals. These cytotypes have not been formally recognized as subspecies because their ranges seem to overlap extensively and because the ploidy level of the type collection of P. andromedifolia is not known. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 2. | FNA vol. 2. |
Parent taxa | Pteridaceae > Pellaea | Pteridaceae > Pellaea |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | Pteris andromedifolia, P. andromedifolia var. pubescens | |
Name authority | D. C. Eaton: Proc. Amer. Acad. Arts 6: 555. (1865) | (Kaulfuss) Fée |
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