Polypodium scouleri

Leather-leaf fern

Family: Polypodiaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Leather-leaf fern is a California native perennial found in northern coastal regions including North Coast, Central Coast, San Francisco Bay Area, and Southern California coastal areas in coastal habitats, generally in heavy fog-drip zones at elevations below 600 meters. This distinctive evergreen fern maintains its thick, leathery fronds year-round, with blade-like leaves 6 to 18 centimeters long in a deltate to oblong-ovate shape. Growing with a conspicuously white-glaucous rhizome 3 to 12 millimeters in diameter, the fern produces dark brown, shiny scales near the leaf base. Its thick, firm fronds have crenate segments with thickened margins and rounded leaf tips, creating a robust and textured appearance. The fern produces spore-bearing structures in oval to round clusters 2 to 6 millimeters long, often partially merged across the leaf surface.

Habitat: Coast, generally in heavy fog-drip or salt-spray zones, on plants (especially Douglas fir,

Elevation: < 600 m

Bioregions: NCo, NCoRO, CCo, SnFrB, SCo

California counties: San Mateo, San Francisco, Mendocino, Santa Barbara, Del Norte, Humboldt, Marin, San Bernardino, Sonoma, San Luis Obispo, Monterey, Santa Cruz

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