|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Species Image Gallery (opens in a new window) |
||
| THE BRACKEN-FERN FAMILY | ||
| These ferns typically grow on rocks and are anchored by hairy, scaly rhizomes. The leaves can be simple or up to 6-times compound. The leaves may be similar or the fertile and sterile leaves may appear different. The spore sacs are in clusters called sori on the underside of the leaf. The sori are on the leaf margin and may be covered by the folding over of the leaf margin. The spore sacs contain only one type of spores and are stalked. There are either 64 or 32 spores per sac. The spores are brown, black, or gray. | ||
| GASTONY’S CLIFFBRAKE | ||
| LATIN NAME: Pellaea gastonyi | ||
| WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE? | ||
| Gastony’s cliffbrake is between 10 and 50 cm tall. The rhizome is compact and scaly. The scales are tan to rusty in colour. The leaves are of two types: fertile and sterile. The leaf stalk and central axis are purplish-black and densely hairy. The leaf blades are up to 20 cm long and to 12 cm wide at the base. The leaves are divided twice at the bottom, but only once near the top. The pinnae are dark green above and lighter below. The sori are marginal and covered by the rolled over leaf margin. The spore sacs are mostly long-stalked and contain 32 tan to brown spores. | ||
| WHERE DOES IT GROW? | ||
| Gastony’s cliffbrake grows in limestone cliff crevices. | ||
| WHERE IS IT FOUND IN SASKATCHEWAN? | ||
| This plant is found in northwestern Saskatchewan in the Athabasca Plain and Tazin Lake Upland ecoregions. | ||
| WHY IS IT RARE? | ||
| Gastony’s cliffbrake is endangered because of extreme rarity in Saskatchewan. It is regionally restricted to the Lake Athabasca region. No immediate threats are known but may occur in the future. | ||
| HOW TO IDENTIFY GASTONY’S CLIFFBRAKE | ||
| * Are the sterile and fertile leaves different? * Are the clusters of spore sacs on the margin of the leaf? * Is the leaf margin folded over? * Did you find it in northwestern Saskatchewan? |
||
If you answered yes to all of these questions, you may have found Gastony’s cliffbrake! |
||
