Cryptogramma stelleri(S.G.Gmel.) Prantl

Steller's rockbrakefragile rockbrakeslender rockbrake

WFO wfo-0001107262 Accepted WFO 2026-06 8 photographs CC0 / CC BY / CC BY-SA

Plate 1 figs. a–h · 8 separate observations

Cryptogramma stelleri, photographed by Allan Harris
fig. a Allan Harris, CC0 1.0 / 2022-06-04 / obs. 203338745

Every figure is a research-grade observation under CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA, rehosted with the photographer’s name, the licence and the observation it came from. Photographs under a NonCommercial licence are excluded from this site and are never stored, which costs us a great many pictures and is not negotiable.

The specimen a real sheet, in a real collection

Herbarium
Smithsonian, US National Herbarium
Accession
US 2202055
Filed as
Cryptogramma stelleri (S.G.Gmel.) Prantl
Det. by
Metzgar, Jordan
Collected
R. R. Stewart 1947-07-19
Origin
IN
The sheet
View the digitised specimen (CC0 1.0)

A real pressed plant, in a real collection, under the accession number above. Not an illustration of one. The holding institution does not serve this sheet’s image to third parties, so there is no photograph here. The record is real and the link goes to it. Where we hold no openly licensed sheet for a species this section is simply absent, and where a sheet never recorded who determined it, that field stays empty rather than being filled in. Roughly half of all herbarium sheets never recorded a determiner, which is ordinary.

Native range 63 botanical countries

Regions where Cryptogramma stelleri is native: Afghanistan, Altay, Amur, Buryatiya, China North-Central, China South-Central, Chita, Irkutsk, Japan, Kamchatka, Kazakhstan, Khabarovsk, Kirgizstan, Krasnoyarsk, Magadan, Mongolia, Qinghai, Sakhalin, Tadzhikistan, Taiwan, Tibet, Tuva, West Siberia, Xinjiang, Yakutiya, East Himalaya, Nepal, Pakistan, West Himalaya, East European Russia, North European Russia, Alaska, Alberta, British Columbia, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Iowa, Labrador, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nevada, New Brunswick, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Newfoundland, Northwest Territories, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Québec, Utah, Vermont, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming, Yukon AfghanistanAltayAmurBuryatiyaChina North-CentralChina South-CentralChitaIrkutskJapanKamchatkaKazakhstanKhabarovskKirgizstanKrasnoyarskMagadanMongoliaQinghaiSakhalinTadzhikistanTaiwanTibetTuvaWest SiberiaXinjiangYakutiyaEast HimalayaNepalPakistanWest HimalayaEast European RussiaNorth European RussiaAlaskaAlbertaBritish ColumbiaColoradoConnecticutIllinoisIowaLabradorMaineMassachusettsMichiganMinnesotaMontanaNevadaNew BrunswickNew HampshireNew JerseyNew YorkNewfoundlandNorthwest TerritoriesNova ScotiaOntarioOregonPennsylvaniaQuébecUtahVermontWashingtonWest VirginiaWisconsinWyomingYukon
Native distribution of Cryptogramma stelleri, after Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants. Introduced, extinct and doubtful records are excluded, so this is where the plant is from, not everywhere it now grows.
RegionTDWG codeContinent
Alaska ASK NORTHERN AMERICA
Alberta ABT
British Columbia BRC
Colorado COL
Connecticut CNT
Illinois ILL
Iowa IOW
Labrador LAB
Maine MAI
Massachusetts MAS
Michigan MIC
Minnesota MIN
Montana MNT
Nevada NEV
New Brunswick NBR
New Hampshire NWH
New Jersey NWJ
New York NWY
Newfoundland NFL
Northwest Territories NWT
Nova Scotia NSC
Ontario ONT
Oregon ORE
Pennsylvania PEN
Québec QUE
Utah UTA
Vermont VER
Washington WAS
West Virginia WVA
Wisconsin WIS
Wyoming WYO
Yukon YUK
Afghanistan AFG ASIA-TEMPERATE
Altay ALT
Amur AMU
Buryatiya BRY
China North-Central CHN
China South-Central CHC
Chita CTA
Irkutsk IRK
Japan JAP
Kamchatka KAM
Kazakhstan KAZ
Khabarovsk KHA
Kirgizstan KGZ
Krasnoyarsk KRA
Magadan MAG
Mongolia MON
Qinghai CHQ
Sakhalin SAK
Tadzhikistan TZK
Taiwan TAI
Tibet CHT
Tuva TVA
West Siberia WSB
Xinjiang CHX
Yakutiya YAK
East Himalaya EHM ASIA-TROPICAL
Nepal NEP
Pakistan PAK
West Himalaya WHM
East European Russia RUE EUROPE
North European Russia RUN

Region boundaries approximated from Natural Earth (public domain) and mapped to TDWG World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions (WGSRPD) level-3 botanical countries (Brummitt 2001). Indicative, not the official WGSRPD geometry.

Where it actually grows measured, from 704 observations

Condition 5th percentile Median 95th percentile
Coldest month, mean daily low -23.1 °C -12.5 °C -9.4 °C
Warmest month, mean daily high 16.3 °C 22.2 °C 27.0 °C
Annual rainfall 594 mm 990 mm 1,459 mm
Rainfall in the driest quarter 67 mm 191 mm 282 mm

It is found where winters are severely cold. This is not care advice and it is not a forecast. It is a measurement: we sampled the climate at every one of the 704 research-grade observations of Cryptogramma stelleri that carry a coordinate, and this is the range those places actually span. The 5th and 95th percentiles are used rather than the minimum and maximum, because a single cultivated specimen in a heated conservatory should not widen a tropical plant's range to the Arctic.

This is not a hardiness zone. A USDA zone is the average annual extreme minimum temperature. The figure above is the mean daily minimum of the coldest month, which is a different quantity and is typically far warmer. Reading one as the other would place a plant several zones too warm, so we do not publish a hardiness zone, because we do not have one.

Also published as 12 synonyms

A synonym is not an error. It is a record of botanists disagreeing, in print, about where this plant belongs. Each of these was somebody’s considered answer.

  • Allosorus gracilis (Fée) Farw.
  • Allosorus gracilis (Michx.) C.Presl
  • Allosorus minutus Turcz. ex Trautv.
  • Allosorus stelleri (S.G.Gmel.) Rupr.
  • Cheilanthes gracilis (Michx.) Kaulf.
  • Cryptogramma crispa var. japonica Miyabe & Kudô
  • Cryptogramma gracilis (Michx.) Clute
  • Pellaea gracilis (Michx.) Hook.
  • Pellaea stelleri (S.G.Gmel.) Baker
  • Pteris gracilis Michx.
  • Pteris minuta Turcz.
  • Pteris stelleri S.G.Gmel.

Sourcesevery claim on this page

  1. World Flora Online Plant List. accepted name, authority, classification. CC0. Retrieved 2026-07-12.
  2. iNaturalist. photographs and flowering annotations, CC0 / CC BY / CC BY-SA only. per photograph. Retrieved 2026-06-27.
  3. Wikidata. common name (P1843), joined on the World Flora Online identifier (P7715). CC0. Retrieved 2026-07-13.
  4. Kew, World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP v16). native distribution by TDWG level-3 botanical country, and life form. CC BY 3.0. Retrieved 2026-06-04.

We publish what we can source and we say so when we cannot. This page has no care advice and no toxicity claim, because we do not yet have those from a source we can cite.