California lacefern facts for kids
Quick facts for kids California lacefern |
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Scientific classification  |
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| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Class: | Polypodiopsida |
| Order: | Polypodiales |
| Family: | Pteridaceae |
| Genus: | Aspidotis |
| Species: |
A. californica
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| Binomial name | |
| Aspidotis californica (Hook.) Nutt. ex Copel.
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| Synonyms | |
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Adiantopsis californica |
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The California lacefern (scientific name: Aspidotis californica) is a cool type of fern. You can find it growing naturally in California in the United States and Baja California in Mexico. This fern loves to grow in rocky places, like cracks and small spaces in rocks. It lives in different kinds of environments, such as Chaparral (a type of shrubland), pine forests, oak woodlands, and grassy valleys.
What it Looks Like
The California lacefern has delicate leaves that look a bit like lace. Each leaf is thin and divided into many smaller, triangle-shaped parts. These triangles are then split even further into tiny sections, which have curled edges that look like little teeth.
On the underside of these leaf sections, you'll find tiny brown dots. These dots are called sori (say: SOH-rye). Sori are like little packets that hold the fern's spores, which are how ferns reproduce. The edges of the fern's leaves curl under to cover and protect these sori, acting like a little shield. This shield is called a "false indusium."
