Myriopteris clevelandii

Cleveland's lip fern, Cleveland's Lip Fern

Family: Pteridaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Cleveland's lip fern is a California native perennial found in the northern Channel Islands and Peninsular Ranges in rocky, exposed areas at elevations of 200 to 1,000 meters. With gray-green fronds 15 to 30 centimeters long, this fern has intricately divided leaves that are 3 to 5 centimeters wide with multiple layers of pinnate segments. Growing with a short to long-creeping rhizome covered in red-brown scales with dark mid-stripes, the fern has delicate segments that are small and round to slightly heart-shaped. Its leaf stalks are narrow, less than 2 millimeters wide, and densely covered with lance-linear scales ranging from gray to red-brown. The fern's segments are uniquely structured, with concave undersides completely covered in scales and nonglandular hairs, creating a textured and intricate appearance.

Habitat: Rocky, exposed areas

Elevation: 200-1000 m

Bioregions: n ChI, PR

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