Argyrochosma jonesii

Jones' false cloak-fern

Family: Pteridaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Jones' false cloak-fern is a California native perennial found in southern Sierra Nevada, southern Coast Ranges, San Gabriel Mountains, White and Inyo Mountains, and Desert Mountains in calcareous rock crevices and cliff bases at elevations of 400 to 1,800 meters. This delicate fern has dark brown stalks supporting feathery fronds 5 to 15 centimeters long with compact, intricately divided segments. Growing with compact, clustered growth habit, the fern develops short basal pinna stalks less than 5 millimeters long and pinnule stalks up to 1.5 millimeters. Its finely dissected leaflets are typically 2 to 5 millimeters long, creating a lacy, intricate appearance characteristic of rock-dwelling ferns. Each frond contains multiple sporangia capable of producing 64 spores, reflecting the plant's sophisticated reproductive strategy.

Habitat: Generally calcareous rock crevices, cliff bases

Elevation: 400-1800 m

Bioregions: s SNH, SCoRO, SnGb, W&ampI, DMtns

California counties: San Bernardino, Tulare, Fresno, Inyo, Kern, Los Angeles, Riverside, Santa Barbara

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.