i8 
FERNS OF THE WEST. 
V. PELLiEA, Link. Cliff-Brake. 
Fruit-dots oblong or roundish, soon running together. Small ferns. 
(Greek dusky, from the dark stalk.) 
A genus of about 50 species. Most of them in South Africa; some in tropical 
America, and 1 1 in the United States. 
* Fronds pinnate, stnooth, thin; veins easily seen; involucre broad. 
Rootstock short. 
38. P. Breweri, Eaton. (Ereweds P.) 
Pinnae entire, or two-lobed or parted, oblong-ovate ; veins more than 
once-forked. Stalks breaking up into many joints. Involucre light- 
colored. Sterile pinnae broader. Rootstock very short and thick. 
California and Arizona to Utah and southern Colorado. Clefts of rocks. 
39. P. gracilis, Hooker. (The slender P.) 
Frond very thin and delicate; lower pinnae once- or twice-parted 
into three to five divisions; fertile divisions oblong or linear-oblong, 
entire or sharply cut; divisions of sterile fronds obovate or ovate, scal- 
loped or cut ; veins of the fertile fronds usually once-forked. Rootstock 
very slender. Stalks not breaking into joints. 3 to 6 inches high. 
On shaded limestone rocks, Vermont to Colorado. Asia. Rare in the West. 
* * Fronds leathery ; veins not easily seen; involucre very evident. 
4— Final divisions obtuse or acute, not having a sharp point or prickle at 
the tip. 
Fronds never tri-pinnate. 
40- P. atropiirpiirea? Link. (The dark purple P.) 
Smooth, except a few hairs on the stalk and midrib. Frond pinnate 
(lower pinnae sometimes pinnate) : fertile divisions linear or oblong ; 
sterile sometimes oval, usually entire, slightly heart-shaped or truncate at 
base; veins forking only twice. 6 to 18 inches high. (Eteris , L. ; 
Allosorus , Kunze.) 
Clefts of perpendicular rocks. Colorado (rare), to Arizona and Mexico. Through- 
out the eastern States. 
41- P» aspera. Baker. (The rough P.) 
Frond bi-pmnate, very rough on both sides with short, stiff, straight 
or branched white hairs ; pinnae and pinnules deltoid-lanceolate ; edges 
of the involucre scalloped. 6 to 9 inches high. (Cheilanthes , 
Hooker.) 
New Mexico to Texas. 
^ ^Fronds tri- to quadri-pinnate. (No. 42 is rarely bi-pinnate.) 
42. P, andrometefolia, Fee. (ThQ Ajidromeda-leavedV.') 
Rootstock slender. Frond ovate, chiefly tri-pinnate; final divisions 
2-12 to -5-12 inch long, oval, slightly heart-shaped, notched at the end, 
often sessile, almost fleshy; fertile divisions often with the edges rolled 
up to the midrib; veins numerous, parallel; involucres thin, white-mar- 
gined. 4 to 24 inches high. (Eteris and Allosorus , Kaulfuss.) 
California to Arizona. Chili. South Africa, 
43. Variety pubescens, Baker. (The/^to^:^_>^/ var.) 
Final divisions usually larger than in the typical form, and often 
