~52 FERNS OF KENTUCKY. 
PATE Aik 
PELLAA ATROPURPUREA, Link. 
CLIFF-BRAKE FERN. 
The root-stock of this fern is tufted and surrounded with 
a number of chaffy scales. The stem is very black and 
polished, with a wiry appearance. ‘The entire plant is stiff 
and coriaceous. ‘The frond is pinnate, the pinnules of the 
sterile frond being more oval than those of the fertile, and 
somewhat heart-shaped at the base. ‘The fertile frond is 
quite large, and in some situations attains the height of 
fifteen inches. 
This fern is very properly called Cliff-Brake, as it is 
usually found in the crevices of dry cliffs. It is well dis- 
tributed over the state of Kentucky, wherever there are 
limestone cliffs, though it is occasionally found in sand- 
stone formations. It is very abundant on the sides of the 
cliffs bordering on Beargrass Creek in the neighborhood 
of Louisville, on the limestone cliffs of the Kentucky 
River (Short), and generally along the cliffs of the Ohio 
River. In some places the fronds do not decay during the 
winter, becoming brownish and curled up, and no longer 
performing the office of a leaf, after the growth of the new 
fronds takes place. 
In cultivation it answers well for rock-work, but is not 
suitable for the Wardian case. 
The Plate shows a plant of natural size. 
