PLANT PAGE
<< Plant List
>> Photo Essay
Learn More
Calflora Taxon Rpt
Friends of Edgewood Guide
Jepson eFlora
Calphotos
Wikipedia
Brake Fern Family
Other
Switch Plants
Also Found At
Edgewood Preserve
SF Peninsula Mixed Evergreen Forest Habitat
Taxa with ID Tips
Alice Eastwood Road (CNPS)
Alpine Dam to Kent Lake Pump Road
Anthony Chabot Regional Park
Arroyo Hondo Canyon
Azalea Hill and Southern Carson Ridge
Azalea Hill Common Plants
Baker Beach North
Bear Valley
Benbow Lake State Recreation Area
Big Rock to Loma Alta Hill Summit
Bishop Ranch Regional Open Space
Black Diamond Mines Regional Preserve
Bolinas Ridge Trail
Briones Regional Park
Brushy Peak Regional Preserve
Cabrillo National Monument
Calaveras Big Trees State Park
Calf Canyon
Carquinez Strait Regional Shoreline
Cascade Canyon
Cateract Trail
Chimney Rock
China Camp State Park (CNPS)
Claremont Canyon Regional Preserve
Cold Canyon
Cuyamaca Rancho State Park
Deer Island
Del Norte Coast Redwoods State Park
Del Valle Regional Park
Devil's Gulch
Diablo Foothills Regional Park
Don Castro Regional Recreation Area
Folsom Lake State Recreation Area
Fort Tejon State Historic Park
Garin/Dry Creek Pioneer Regional Park
Greenwood State Beach
Huckleberry Botanic Regional Preserve
Indian Grinding Rock State Historical Park
Jasper Ridge
Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park
Jenner Headlands
Jepson and Johnstone Trail
Joshua Tree
Kennedy Grove Regional Recreation Area
Kenneth Hahn State Recreation Area
Lake De Sabla
Lake Lagunitas
Lake Oroville State Recreation Area
Las Trampas Regional Wilderness
Leona Canyon Regional Open Space Preserve
Limantour Estero
Lumpkin Ridge
Malibu Creek State Park
Miller/Knox Regional Shoreline
Mission Peak Regional Preserve
Montana de Oro State Park
Morgan Territory Regional Preserve
Morro Bay
Mount Burdell
Mount Diablo Summit and Fire Interpretive Trail
Nicasio Ridge
Oat Hill Mine
Ohlone Regional Wilderness
Old Stage Road
Olompali State Historic Park
Pleasanton Ridge Regional Park
Point Mugu State Park
Portola Valley Ranch Approved Plants
Redwood Regional Park
Richardson Grove State Park
Ring Mountain
Rock Spring
Rodeo Lagoon
Round Valley Regional Preserve
Samuel P. Taylor State Park
San Bruno Mountain
Santa Susana Pass State Historic Park
Sausal Creek Native Plants
Schooner Gulch SB
Shiloh Regional Park
Sibley Volcanic Regional Preserve
Sinkyone Wilderness State Park
Skyline Trail
Sobrante Ridge Regional Preserve
Soulejule Reservoir
Steep Ravine Trail East
Steep Ravine Trail West
Stone Ridge
Sunol Regional Wilderness
Sutter Buttes State Park
Temescal Regional Recreation Area
Tilden Regional Park
Topanga State Park
Van Hoosear Wildflower Preserve
Vargas Plateau Regional Park
Vasco Caves Regional Preserve
Verna Dunshee Trail
Vine Hill
Wildcat Canyon Regional Park
Wolf Ridge
User Comments
Email corrections
Contributors and Copyright
Goldback Fern (Pentagramma triangularis)
Login
Fern
Typical Height
Perennial
Native
Description
Height to 1 ft.
This small fern is in the shape of a broad triangle (hence triangularis).
Turn it over and you'll often find a powdery gold covering.
Goldback Fern grows in little groups in shady areas.
CA native
AKA Gold Back Fern, Goldenback Fern
Brake Fern Family (Pteridaceae)
The broad triangle shape is rounded with two smaller segments that point down.
The back of the fern is quite pale, often covered with a gold dusty substance that inhibits moisture loss.
Each frond grows on a dark-brown shiny stalk, generally 8 - 12 inches long.
Photo Gallery (76 ) click any picture to enlarge
Gold Back Fern has a dark, wiry stem that is bare near the ground. Its [[segments]] form a triangle shape, widest at the bottom and narrow at the ...
The underside of leaflets are covered with a gold dusty substance that inhibits moisture loss.
When conditions dry out the leaflets curl up but don't fall off. They'll unfurl when it rains again.
Pentagramma triangularis, the scientific name, refers to two geometric shapes. The overall shape of fern frond is a triangle, although the bottom h ...