Pellaea pteroides

Pellaea pteroides, commonly known as the myrtle fern, is a small, perennial fern growing from a short, creeping rhizome to heights around 40 cm, often shorter.

The Pellaea ferns form part of the Cheilanthoideae subfamily of the Pteridaceae family. They are commonly known as cliffbrakes found in Africa, the Americas, Australia and New Zealand.

The species distribution of this South African endemic is in the Western Cape from the Cape Peninsula northwards to Clanwilliam and eastwards to Ladismith in the west of the Little Karoo. The photo was taken in Jonkershoek.

The habitat is fynbos, forests, succulent Karoo, in both full sun and secluded places on rocky slopes and moist kloofs. The species is not considered to be threatened in its habitat early in the twenty first century (iNaturalist; Wikipedia; https://www.fernkloof.org.za; http://redlist.sanbi.org).