Dry, calcareous rocks, southern New England and westward. Rare. Var.
_cristata_ has forked pinnæ somewhat crowded toward the summit of the
frond. Missouri.


(2) SMOOTH CLIFF BRAKE

_Pellàea glabella. Pellàea atropurpùrea_, var. _Bushii_

Naked with a few, scattered, spreading hairs, smooth surface and dark
polished stipes. Rhizome short with membranous, orange or brown scales
having a few bluntish teeth on each edge. Pinnæ sub-opposite, divergent,
narrowly oblong, obtuse; base truncate, cordate or clasping, occasionally
auricled; lower pinnæ often with orbicular or cordate pinnules. Sterile
pinnæ broader, bluish or greenish glaucous above, often crowded to
overlapping. The smooth cliff brake has a decidedly northern range, growing
from northern Vermont to Missouri, and northwestward, but found rarely, if
at all, in southern New England.

[Illustration: Dense Cliff Brake. _Cryptogramma densa_ (From Waters's
"Ferns," Henry Holt & Co.)]


(3) DENSE CLIFF BRAKE

_Cryptográmma densa. Pellaèa densa_

Modern botanists are inclined to place the dense cliff brake and the
slender cliff brake under the genus _Cryptográmma_, which is so nearly like
_Pellaea_ that one hesitates to choose between them. The word Cryptográmma