Pteridaceae

Pale silverback fern

Pentagramma pallida (Weath.) Yatsk., Windham & E.Wollenw.

Family: Pteridaceae
Genus: Pentagramma

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Pale silverback fern: This closer view of Pentagramma pallida shows the frond architecture as delimited by the whiteness of the rachis and the costae (pinna midribs) conferred by an — Photo: John Game, CC BY 2.0, from Wikimedia Commons

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Common names

By language (1)

English: Pale silverback fern

Synonyms

Pityrogramma pallida (Weath.) K.S.Alt & V.E.Grant
Pityrogramma triangularis var. pallida Weath.

Characteristics

Growth habit: Forb/herb
Lifespan: Perennial
In the US and Canada: Lower 48 states: native

Photos

Photo: John Game, CC BY 2.0, from Wikimedia Commons
Photo: Timothy McNitt, CC BY 4.0, from iNaturalist
Photo: Matt Berger, CC BY 4.0, from iNaturalist
Photo: Matt Berger, CC BY 4.0, from iNaturalist
Photo: Matt Berger, CC BY 4.0, from iNaturalist
Photo: Kyle Elshoff, CC BY 4.0, from iNaturalist
Photo: Matt Berger, CC BY 4.0, from iNaturalist
Photo: Emily Langdon-Lassagne, CC0, from iNaturalist
Photo: Kyle Elshoff, CC BY 4.0, from iNaturalist
Photo: Ryan Donnelly, CC BY 4.0, from iNaturalist
Photo: Matt Berger, CC BY 4.0, from iNaturalist
Photo: Justin Felder, CC BY-SA 4.0, from iNaturalist

More in Pentagramma

Sources: classification, synonyms from World Flora Online Plant List (2026-06, CC0 1.0); common names, popularity from Wikidata (2026-10-26, CC0 1.0); common names, US characteristics from USDA PLANTS Database (2025-05-29, CC0 1.0). About our plant data.