Data provided by the participants of the Consortium of California Herbaria

View additional distribution information on the Jepson eflora

Pellaea andromedifolia is a species of cliff brake fern known by the common name coffee fern. It is native to California in the United States and Baja California in Mexico. This plant does not have the immediately recognizable sharply pointed leaflets on its fronds that many other ferns have. Its leaves bear rounded or oval-shaped segments widely spaced along the rachis. Each segment may curl under along its edges. The leaves are green when new, then turn red, purplish, or brown. Some individuals of this species are diploid and reproduce sexually, while some are triploid or tetraploid and reproduce by apogamy (growth of a plant from a gamete without fertilization).

Plant type

Fern

Size

10 in Tall

Special uses

Containers, Deer resistant

Sun

Deep Shade, Partial Shade

Water

Low, Very Low

Soil drainage

Fast

Sunset Zones

7, 9, 14*, 15*, 16*, 17*, 18*, 19*, 20*, 21*, 22*, 23*, 24*

Site type

Dry rocky places

Plant communities

Chaparral, Foothill Woodland, Valley Grassland, Yellow Pine Forest

Caterpillars
Butterflies

Butterflies and moths supported

0 confirmed and 1 likely

Confirmed Likely

Pseudobryomima fallax