Pteris vittata
Pteris multifida
Chinese brake, Chinese ladder brake, ladder brake
Chinese brake, Huguenot fern, saw-leaf bracken, spider brake, spider fern
stout, short-creeping, densely scaly;
scales pale brown.
slender, short-creeping, densely scaly;
scales dark reddish brown to chestnut brown.
clustered, 1–10 dm.
clustered, 1–6 dm.
green to pale brown, 1–30 cm, densely scaly;
scales dense proximally, extending to and along rachis.
pale or brownish, 5–30 cm, scaly proximally, otherwise glabrous.
oblanceolate, 1-pinnate, (15–)25–50(–80) × (6–)13–25 cm;
rachis not winged.
oblong to oblanceolate, irregularly and pedately divided proximally (as in Pteris cretica) and pinnately divided distally, 10–35 × 13–25 cm;
rachis slightly and evenly winged, wing constricted above each pinna pair.
numerous, separated proximally, closely spaced to barely overlapping distally, not remaining green through winter, not decurrent on rachis, not articulate to rachis, linear-lanceolate to linear-attenuate, simple, 2–18 cm × 4–9 mm;
base asymmetrically cordate to widened or truncate;
margins serrulate, prominently so near apex;
apex acuminate, attenuate, or acute;
scales of rachis grading into uniseriate hairs on abaxial costae, or hairs absent on abaxial costae;
proximal pinnae not divided or lobed.
3–7 pairs, widely spaced, distal pinnae simple, adnate and decurrent to rachis;
pinnae remaining green through winter, not articulate to rachis, lanceolate to linear;
sterile pinnae wider than fertile pinnae (to ca. 1.2 cm), margins irregularly serrate to serrulate;
fertile pinnae mostly less than 5 mm, margins entire to serrate at apex;
adaxial costae with sparse, septate hairs;
proximal pinnae with 1–4 elongate basal segments.
free, forked.
free, simple or forked.
narrow, blade tissue exposed abaxially.
narrow, blade tissue exposed abaxially.
= 116.
= 116.
Pteris vittata
Pteris multifida
Pteris vittata has escaped from cultivation. It is found on almost any calcareous substrate, such as old masonry, sidewalks, building crevices, and nearly every habitat in southern Florida with exposed limestone, notably pinelands. It is scattered throughout Florida and is sporadic, becoming less frequent to rare northward in the coastal plain.
Pteris vittata varies exceedingly in size, density of scales on the rachis, presence or absence of hairs on the abaxial costae, and overall color and aspect of the leaf. As a result, it may occasionally bear a resemblance to forms of P. × delchampsii W. H. Wagner & Nauman, the hybrid between P. bahamensis and P. vittata.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Pteris multifida is found on old shady walls and masonry around cemeteries, dumps, and towns. It may no longer occur in Indiana. Juveniles of Pteris multifida may key to Pteris cretica.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
CA
LA Plants
WildflowerSearch
iNaturalist
USDA Plants Database
IL Wildflowers
MD Biodiversity
