Cryptogramma acrostichoides

American parsley fern

Family: Pteridaceae · Type: perennial · Native

American parsley fern is a California native perennial found in the Klamath Ranges, northern Coast Ranges, high Cascade Range, Sierra Nevada, San Bernardino Mountains, and San Jacinto Mountains on moist to rocky slopes and crevices at elevations of 1,400 to 3,400 meters. Lacking specific flowering data, this fern is characterized by its distinctive fronds that form small, dense clumps. Growing with rhizomatous roots, it produces fertile fronds 10 to 30 centimeters tall and sterile fronds 6 to 22 centimeters long, with lance-ovate blades in a distinctive dark green color. Its leaves are finely divided, creating a delicate, lacy appearance typical of parsley ferns, with fertile and sterile fronds showing slightly different shapes and sizes.

Habitat: Moist to +- dry rocky slopes, crevices

Elevation: 1400-3400 m

Bioregions: KR, NCoRH, CaRH, SNH, SnBr, SnJt

California counties: San Bernardino, Tuolumne, Siskiyou, Trinity, Tulare, Plumas, Placer, Sierra, Fresno, Alpine, El Dorado, Humboldt, Inyo, Lassen, Madera, Mariposa, Mono, Nevada, Riverside, Shasta, Tehama, Del Norte, Butte, Lake, Marin, Amador, Calaveras

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