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Purple Cliffbrake Fern

Pellaea atropurpurea

Other common name(s):

Purple-stem Cliffbrake Fern

Family:

Pteridaceae (Maidenhair Fern Family)

Photo Credit: Claire Sorenson

Plant Ecoregion Distribution Map

Central Great Plains, Chihuahuan Deserts, Cross Timbers, Edwards Plateau, High Plains, Southwestern Tablelands, Texas Blackland Prairies
Broken Red Plains, Limestone Plains, Red Prairie
Chihuahuan Basins and Playas, Chihuahuan Desert Grasslands, Chihuahuan Montane Woodlands, Low Mountains and Bajadas, Stockton Plateau
Carbonate Cross Timbers, Eastern Cross Timbers, Grand Prairie, Limestone Cut Plain, Western Cross Timbers
Balcones Canyonlands, Edwards Plateau Woodland, Llano Uplift, Semiarid Edwards Plateau
Llano Estacado, Rolling Sand Plains
Canadian/Cimarron Breaks, Caprock Canyons Badlands Breaks, Flat Tablelands and Valleys, Semiarid Canadian Breaks
Floodplains and Low Terraces1, Northern Blackland Prairie

Plant Characteristics

Growth Form

Fern

Height

.75
to
1
ft.

Spread

1
to
2
ft.

Leaf Retention

Evergreen

Lifespan

Perennial

Habitat and Care Requirements

Soil Type(s)

Gravelly, Rocky, Limestone, Calcareous, Dry

Light Requirement

Sun, Part Shade

Water Requirement

Low

Native Habitat

Grassland, Woodland

Bloom and Attraction

Bloom Color

No Bloom

Bloom Season

No Bloom

Seasonal Interest

Unknown

Wildlife Benefit

Unknown

Maintenance

Drought tolerant, don’t over water. Grows on rocky slopes and woods, cliffs, usually on limestone or calcareous rocks but also on igneous substrates. Will grow in sun or part shade. Common in the wild but not commercially. Grown and sold by some NPSOT chapters. Propagation: Spores, Clump division. Apogamy, or the ability to reproduce non-sexually, is common among rock ferns in the Pteridaceae.

Comments

One of the most widely distributed ferns in Texas. Like many other members of the Pteridaceae, it is a rock plant, needing a calcareous substrate. Dark purple stems. Leaves have a blue-gray tinge. Fertile fronds are longer and more heavily divided. The sterile ones are shorter, less divided, and with relatively wider ultimate segments

References

1) https://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=PEAT2, 2) https://ferns.brit.org/?q=node/131, 3) https://bonap.net/TDC/Image/Map?taxonType=Species&taxonId=20533&locationType=County&mapType=Normal, 4) https://portal.torcherbaria.org/portal/taxa/index.php?taxon=Pellaea+atropurpurea&formsubmit=Search+Terms, 5) https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=17641#null, 6) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pellaea_atropurpurea, 7) https://www.backyardnature.net/n/x/pellaea.htm, 9) https://ferns.brit.org/?q=node/131

Get in Touch

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Contact a local Chapter

State Office Phone: 830.997.9272

State Office Address:
Native Plant Society of Texas
PO Box 3017
Fredericksburg, TX 78624

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