The green links below add additional plants to the comparison table. Blue links lead to other Web sites.
enable glossary links

frosty silverback fern, pale silverback fern, silver back fern

Petiole

black or nearly so, not shiny, farinose;

farina white, especially in young leaves.

Blade

thin, herbaceous, white-farinose abaxially and adaxially, appearing grayish adaxially when fresh.

2n

= 60.

Pentagramma pallida

Habitat Rock crevices and at base of boulders, in drainages and on slopes, rarely on roadbanks, pine and oak woodlands
Elevation 100–400 m (300–1300 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
CA
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Pentagramma pallida is endemic to the foothills of the Sierra Nevada. C. A. Weatherby (1920), K. S. Alt and V. Grant (1960), and D. M. Smith (1980) agreed that P. pallida is among the most easily distinguishable taxa in the group, particularly in the field. In addition to the key characteristics, the usually blackish, nonlustrous petioles of this species are unique in the genus. Alt and Grant noted a case of apparent hybridization between this species and Pentagramma triangularis in Tuolumne County, California.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Source FNA vol. 2.
Parent taxa Pteridaceae > Pentagramma
Sibling taxa
P. triangularis
Name authority (Weatherby) Yatskievych: Amer. Fern J. 80: 15. 1990 Pityrogramma triangularis (Kaulfuss). (1920)
Web links