cliff brake

cliff brake
any of several common ferns of the genus Pellaea, usually growing in pockets of thin soil on rocks.
[1865-70, Amer.]

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▪ plant, genus Pellaea
 any of about 40 species of ferns of the genus Pellaea (family Pteridaceae). Cliff brake ferns grow on or among rocks, mostly limestone, throughout the world. Small plants with mostly leathery leaves, they are characterized by spore-bearing structures (sporangia) that occur in round or elongated clusters (sori) on the margins of fertile leaves. Overlapping leaf margins form a protective covering.

      The name cliff brake is sometimes used for rock ferns or rock brakes, about four to seven species constituting the genus Cryptogramma, native to Europe, Asia, and the Americas. They differ from Pellaea species by having fronds that die back each winter and by their fertile leaflets, which are usually narrower than the vegetative ones.

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • cliff brake — noun any of several small lithophytic ferns of tropical and warm temperate regions • Syn: ↑cliff brake, ↑rock brake • Hypernyms: ↑fern • Hyponyms: ↑coffee fern, ↑Pellaea andromedifolia, ↑ …   Useful english dictionary

  • cliff-brake — noun any of several small lithophytic ferns of tropical and warm temperate regions • Syn: ↑cliff brake, ↑rock brake • Hypernyms: ↑fern • Hyponyms: ↑coffee fern, ↑Pellaea andromedifolia, ↑ …   Useful english dictionary

  • purple cliff brake — noun : a small cliff brake (Pellaea atropurpurea) with purplish stipes …   Useful english dictionary

  • oregon cliff brake — noun Usage: usually capitalized O : a No. American fern (Pellaea densa) with wiry light brown stipes that is cultivated for ornament called also pod fern …   Useful english dictionary

  • rock brake — noun 1. chiefly lithophytic or epiphytic fern of North America and east Asia • Syn: ↑rock polypody, ↑American wall fern, ↑Polypodium virgianum • Hypernyms: ↑polypody 2. any of several small lithophytic ferns of tropical and warm temperate regions …   Useful english dictionary

  • purple rock brake — noun very short shallowly creeping North American fern usually growing on cliffs or walls and having dark glossy leaf axes • Syn: ↑Pellaea atropurpurea • Hypernyms: ↑cliff brake, ↑cliff brake, ↑rock brake …   Useful english dictionary

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  • cliffbrake — cliff brake n. Any of several ferns in the widely distributed genus Pellaea, typically growing in relatively dry rocky areas or on cliffs and having pinnately compound, often leathery leaves. * * * ▪ plant, genus Pellaea  (Pellaea species), any… …   Universalium

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  • Pellaea atropurpurea — ID 60420 Symbol Key PEAT2 Common Name purple cliffbrake Family Pteridaceae Category Fern Division Pteridophyta US Nativity Native to U.S. US/NA Plant Yes State Distribution AL, AR, AZ, CO, CT, DC, DE, FL, GA, IA, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, MA, MD, MI,… …   USDA Plant Characteristics

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