English: Chinese brake; Chinese ladder brake; Ladder brake.
Clades:
Pteridoideae;
Pteridaceae.
Region: southern Europe, Italy; tropical Africa, Angola, Kenya, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Tanzania, South Africa; temperate and tropical Asia, China,Japan, Thailand; Australia, New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, Western Australia; widespread in the paleotropics; introduced in California, Texas, Southeastern United States.
Habitat: limestone, calcareous soil; on concrete structures and cracks, in buildings, disturbed sites, pinelands.
Use: cultivated, in gardens for its attractive appearance; pollution control schemes, hyperaccumulator of arsenic.
BotanyFern.
Stems hairy.
Leaves: dark green; once divided; 30 to 50 cm long.
Spores: forming lines along the edge of each pinna.
Distribution: spores on wind, wildlife, people.