''Pellaea bridgesii'' is a species of

fern A fern (Polypodiopsida or Polypodiophyta ) is a member of a group of vascular plants (plants with xylem and phloem) that reproduce via spores and have neither seeds nor flowers. The polypodiophytes include all living pteridophytes except t ...

known by the common name Bridges' cliffbrake. It is native to an area of the western United States from northern

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyom ...

, where it grows in rocky granitic cliffs and slopes. ''Pellaea bridgesii'' grows from a branching brown

rhizome In botany and dendrology, a rhizome (; , ) is a modified subterranean plant stem that sends out roots and shoots from its nodes. Rhizomes are also called creeping rootstalks or just rootstalks. Rhizomes develop from axillary buds and grow hori ...

. Each leaf is up to 30 or 35 centimeters long. It is composed of a straight brown rachis lined with widely spaced leathery, blue-green leaflets which are round to oval and sometimes folded over. The edges of the leaflets are not rolled under and do not cover the

sporangia A sporangium (; from Late Latin, ) is an enclosure in which spores are formed. It can be composed of a single cell or can be multicellular. Virtually all plants, fungi, and many other lineages form sporangia at some point in their life cy ...

on the undersides.

External links

Jepson Manual Treatment - ''Pellaea bridgesiiUSDA Plants Profile; Pellaea bridgesii'Flora of North America''Pellaea bridgesii - Photo gallery
bridgesii Ferns of California Ferns of the United States Flora of the West Coast of the United States Flora of the Western United States Flora of the Sierra Nevada (United States) Flora of Idaho Flora of Oregon Endemic flora of the United States {{Pteridaceae-stub