Pteridium aquilinum var. pubescens

Hairy brackenfern

Family: Dennstaedtiaceae · Type: Perennial · Native

Hairy brackenfern is a California native perennial found in the California Floristic Province (excluding the Great Valley) and Warner Mountains in pastures, woodlands, meadows, and hillsides at elevations up to 3,200 meters. A large, distinctive fern with deeply arched fronds that can grow 15 to 150 centimeters wide, forming wide triangular leaf blades. Growing with tall stems 10 to 100 centimeters long, this fern develops complex, leathery leaves that are three-times pinnate with lower pinnae typically the longest. Its leaf segments are oblong, about 0.5 to 2 centimeters long, with rounded tips and covered in dense, straight or slightly kinked clear hairs on the underside of the fronds. The plant thrives in partial to full sun conditions, creating dramatic, sweeping foliage in open woodland and meadow environments.

Habitat: Pastures, woodland, meadows, hillsides, partial to full sun

Elevation: < 3200 m

Bioregions: CA-FP (exc GV), Wrn

California counties: Humboldt, Siskiyou, Plumas, Santa Cruz, San Bernardino, Tulare, San Diego, Riverside, Santa Barbara, Los Angeles, Ventura, Shasta, Alameda, Butte, Contra Costa, Del Norte, El Dorado, Fresno, Inyo, Kern, Lake, Marin, Mariposa, Mono, Monterey, Nevada, Orange, Placer, San Francisco, San Luis Obispo, Sonoma, Mendocino, Sierra, Yuba, Amador, Alpine, Modoc, Glenn, Tehama, Trinity, Colusa, Santa Clara, Tuolumne, Napa, Madera, San Mateo, Lassen, Stanislaus

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