Purple cliff-brake

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Purple cliff-brake

Purple cliff-brake

Purple cliff-brake

Purple cliff-brake

Purple cliff-brake

Purple cliff-brake

Purple cliff-brake pinnules and sori

Purple cliff-brake

Purple cliff-brake sori

Morphology

Culm

Compact, ascending; rhizome scales tan to rust colored, linear-subulate, to .3 inch, tips entangled.

Leaves

Somewhat of 2 forms, numerous, evergreen, firm; sterile leaves shorter and less divided than fertile leaves; petiole purplish to black, conspicuously hairy on upper surface with short, appressed hairs; blade lanceolate to narrowly deltoid in outline, 2 to 16 inches long, 1 to 8 inches wide, 1- or 2-pinnate; pinnae in 5-11 pairs, ultimate segments dark green above, paler below, lanceolate to linear-oblong or ovate, .4 to 3 inches long, .2 to .4 inch wide, leathery, base sometimes with 1-2 lobes, margins entire to crenulate, often weakly recurved and whitish, tips acute to obtuse, glabrous above or villous near midrib below; sori in continuous marginal band on underside of fertile segments, partially covered by incurved margin; spores tan.

Ecology

Habitat

Calcareous rock outcrops, cliffs, ledges, and rocky slopes.

Distribution

East 2/3 of Kansas

Practical Information

Uses

The Mahuna in California took an infusion of the plant to flush the kidneys and as a means to prevent sunstroke. See also Pellaea glabella .