Pentagramma facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Pentagramma |
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| Pentagramma triangularis | |
Scientific classification  |
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| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Class: | Polypodiopsida |
| Order: | Polypodiales |
| Family: | Pteridaceae |
| Subfamily: | Cheilanthoideae |
| Genus: | Pentagramma Yatsk., Windham & E.Wollenw. |
| Species | |
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See text. |
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Pentagramma is a small group of ferns that grow in North America. For a long time, scientists thought these ferns belonged to another group called Pityrogramma. But after more study, they realized Pentagramma ferns are unique. Today, scientists agree there are six main types, or species, of Pentagramma ferns.
One well-known type is Pentagramma triangularis, also called the goldback fern. You can find it growing from British Columbia in Canada, through the western United States, and down into Baja California in northwestern Mexico. Another type, Pentagramma maxonii, grows in places like New Mexico, Arizona, and parts of Mexico and California. All the other types of Pentagramma ferns are found only in California and Baja California.
Species
As of January 2020, the Checklist of Ferns and Lycophytes of the World lists the following species, which are the different kinds of Pentagramma ferns:
- Pentagramma glanduloviscida
- Pentagramma maxonii
- Pentagramma pallida
- Pentagramma rebmanii
- Pentagramma triangularis
- Pentagramma viscosa
