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Smooth Cliffbrake (Pellaea glabella)

Smooth Cliffbrake

Overview

Smooth Cliffbrake (Pellaea glabella) is a small, North American fern with smooth, hairless fronds and a preference for limestone cliffs.

Taxonomy

Family:	Adiantaceae
Genus:	Pellaea (pe-LEE-uh)
Species:	glabella (gla-BEL-uh)
Synonym:	Pellaea glabella subsp. glabella

Description

Fronds are 10–25 cm long, pinnate, with smooth, leathery, blue-green pinnae. Stipes are dark, wiry, smooth. The plant forms a compact tuft in rock crevices.

Habitat and Cultivation

Grows on limestone cliffs and ledges. In cultivation, requires alkaline, well-drained soil, bright light, and minimal water. Suitable for rock gardens and troughs.

Ferns: Smooth Sumac (Rhus glabra): Native Colonizer with Brilliant Fall Color; Alabama Lip Fern (Cheilanthes alabamensis): Tiny, Xeric Fern for Rock Crevices; Pellaea truncata: Spiny Cliffbrake; Wright's Cliffbrake (Pellaea wrightiana); Bird's Foot Cliffbrake (Pellaea mucronata); Coffee Fern (Pellaea andromedifolia); Purple Cliffbrake (Pellaea atropurpurea); Cliff Brake Fern (Pellaea falcata) – Tough Indoor Survivor; Button Fern (Pellaea rotundifolia) – Charming Round Leaflets; Identifying Mystery Evergreens: Carolina Cherry Laurel vs. Sweetbay Magnolia

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