Scientific Name : Cryptogramma stelleri
Author : (Gmel.) Prantl
NatureServe Explorer
Common Name : Slender Rock- brake
Current Research Activities
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Taxonomy
Pteridaceae (maidenhair fern family)
Ranks and Status
State Rank : S2
State Rank Reason : Cryptogramma stelleri is known from 20 occurrences in 11 Colorado counties (USA). The habitat somewhat inaccessible and naturally protected, however, specific occurrences could be threatened by any changes in hydrology that would dry out the habitat.
U.S. Endangered Species Act : none
Colorado Threatened and Endangered List : none
Other Statuses : USFS GMUG, USFS RGNF
Description and Phenology
General Description:
This delicate, slender perennial fern has two kinds of fronds, sterile and fertile, and grows only 1-2 together unlike Cryptogramma crispa, which has robust fronds that are crowded together on a short rhizome.
Look Alikes:
Cryptogramma acrostichoides fronds are more robust and crowded on a short rhizome. Additionally, the lower portion of the stipes are persistent (Weber and Wittmann 2012).
Phenology:
New growth produced in spring, dying by late summer (Flora of North America 1993+).
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Habitat
Cryptogramma stelleri is found scattered on moss and duff, in the shade of moist coniferous forests. Found in crevices in calcareous rocks in shaded localities with dripping water (Hulten 1968). Grows in horizontal crevices of moist, shaded limestone cliffs, which tend to be mossy, and are often associated with waterfalls and under shallow rock overhangs. Also associated with other ferns such as brittle bladderfern (Cystopteris fragilis) and American rock-brake (Cryptogramma acrostichoides).
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Elevation Range:
7,824 - 13,457 feet (2,385 - 4,102 meters)
Distribution
Colorado Endemic:
No
Range:
Cryptogramma stelleri is known from known from Archuleta, Conejos, Eagle, Garfield, Grand, Gunnison, La Plata, Ouray, San Juan, San Miguel, and Summit counties in Colorado, USA. Estimated range extent in Colorado of 33,692 square kilometers was calculated in GeoCAT using occurrence data provided by the Colorado Natural Heritage Program (2023). This species can also be found in Alaska, Connecticut, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Utah, Vermont, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming, USA. Globally, this species can also be found in Alberta, British Columbia, Labrador, New Brunswick, Newfoundland, Northwest Territories, Nova Scotia, Nunavut, Ontario, Quebec, and Yukon, Canada (Welsh 1974; Porsild and Cody 1980; USDA NRCS 2012).
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Threats and Management Issues
Naturally protected habitat. However, specific occurrences could be threatened by any changes in hydrology that would dry out the habitat.
References
- Ackerfield, J. 2012. The Flora of Colorado. Colorado State University Herbarium. 433 pp.
- Fernald, M.L. 1949. Gray's Manual of Botany, Eighth edition. American Book Co. New York.
- Flora of North America Editorial Committee, ed. (FNA). 1993+. Flora of North America North of Mexico. Oxford Univ. Press, New York, Oxford.
- Gleason, H.A. 1952. New Britton & Brown. Illustrated Flora. Lancaster Press Inc. Lancaster, Pa.
- Harrington, H.D. 1954. Manual of the plants of Colorado. Sage Press, Chicago. 666 pp.
- Heil, K.D., S.L. O'Kane Jr., L.M. Reeves, and A. Clifford, 2013. Flora of the Four Corners Region, Vascular Plants of the San Juan River Drainage; Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. Missouri Botanical Garden Press, St. Louis, Missouri. 1098 pp.
- Hulten, E. 1968. Flora of Alaska and Neighboring Territories. Stanford University Press, Stanford, CA.
- Kunsman, J.R. and Keener, C.S. 1986. New Records of Vascular Plants from Bair County, Pennsylvania. Bartonia 52:14-25.
- Lavender, A.E., M.M. Fink, S.E. Linn, D.M. Theobald. 2011. Colorado Ownership, Management, and Protection v9 Database. Colorado Natural Heritage Program and Geospatial Centroid, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO. (30 September).
- Lellinger, D. B. 1985. A Field Manual of the Ferns and Fern-allies of the United States and Canada. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington D.C.
- Schneider, A. 2013. Wildflowers, Ferns, and Trees of the Four Corners Regions of Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, and Utah. Accessed on-line at http://www.swcoloradowildflowers.com.
- USDA, NRCS. 2022. The PLANTS Database. National Plant Data Team, Greensboro, NC 27401-4901 USA.
- Weber, W. A. 1961. Additions to the flora of Colorado. University of Colorado Studies Series in Biology 7:1-26.
- Weber, W. A. and R. C. Wittmann. 2012. Colorado Flora, Eastern Slope, A Field Guide to the Vascular Plants, Fourth Edition. Boulder, Colorado. 555 pp.
- Weber, W. A. and R. C. Wittmann. 2012. Colorado Flora, Western Slope, A Field Guide to the Vascular Plants, Fourth Edition. Boulder, Colorado. 532 pp.
- Welsh, S. L. 1974. Anderson's Flora of Alaska and Adjacent Canada. Brigham Young University Press, Provo, UT.
- Wherry, E.T. 1940-1941. The Ferns and Lycosphenes of Pennsylvania. Bartonia 21:11-37.
