Pellaea atropurpurea
(L.) Link · speciesAt a glance
Sources12 archives
Databases and archives Pellaea atropurpurea's data was compiled from.
WikipediaWikimedia Foundation4 languages↗
BioWikiNetmultilingual Wikipediamultilingual↗
GBIFGlobal Biodiversity Information Facility8 143 records↗
ENAEuropean Nucleotide Archive · EMBL-EBI7 eDNA detections↗
BOLD SystemsCentre for Biodiversity Genomics8 specimens↗
NCBIUS National Library of Medicinesequences↗
LOTUSNatural Products (Wikidata)compounds↗
GRIN TaxonomyUSDA-ARSdistribution & uses↗
Open Tree of LifeOpenTreephylogeny backbone↗
CCDBChromosome Counts DB · Tel Aviv U.genome & karyotype↗
GoaTGenomes on a Tree · Sangergenome & karyotype↗
GLoBIGlobal Biotic Interactionsbiotic interactions↗Every layer below draws on the sources above — open one to explore it, or use ← → to move between tabs.
Pellaea atropurpurea, commonly known as purple-stem cliffbrake or just purple cliffbrake, is a fern native to North and Central America. Brake is an old word for fern, related to the word bracken. Like many other members of the Pteridaceae, it is a rock plant, needing a calcareous substrate. P. atropurpurea is an apogamous autotriploid, with 3n=87 (actual base number, n=29), and is one of the historical parents of the hybrid species complex, Pellaea glabella. Apogamy, or the ability to reproduce non-sexually, is common among rock ferns in the Pteridaceae.
No narrative description available for this taxon yet.
Size & morphology2
Life cycle & reproduction1
Diet & foraging1
Habitat & environment5
Physiology & chemistry3
Compounds documented for Pellaea atropurpurea across natural-product and food-composition databases — not just the ~150 nutrients on a classic label ("nutritional dark matter").
Compound class profile3 classes
Documented compounds6 total
| Compound | Class | Amount | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| (3R,3'R,13-cis)-beta,beta-Carotene-3,3'-diol | present | LOTUS | |
| Adonixanthin | present | LOTUS | |
| Cryptoxanthin | present | LOTUS | |
| Lutein 5,6-epoxide | present | LOTUS | |
| Rhodoxanthin | present | LOTUS | |
| Violaxanthin | present | LOTUS |
A DNA barcode is a short, standardised stretch of genes that works like a fingerprint — enough to tell one species from another. Below is the molecular trace Pellaea atropurpurea has left across the world's sequence archives.
At a glance
★ the standard DNA barcode for this group — the short region actually read to tell this species apart. The rest are extra genes sequenced along the way.
The complete instruction manual Pellaea atropurpurea carries — its genome. We read it from three angles — how big it is, how the DNA is packed into chromosomes, and how completely it has been sequenced — and explain how to read each value as you go.
Genome sizehow big the whole instruction manual is
Measured in base pairs (bp) — the individual letters of DNA (human ≈ 3.2 Gb, a bacterium a few million). The chart places this genome on a logarithmic scale — each step to the right is ten times bigger — among reference organisms. Across species a bigger genome loosely tracks with larger cells, slower growth and lower-energy lifestyles (powered flight favours small genomes) — yet it does not imply more genes or a more advanced organism (the long-standing C-value paradox).
Chromosomes & ploidyhow the DNA is packaged
2n is the full chromosome count in a normal body cell; n is a gamete (egg or sperm), which carries half. Ploidy is how many complete chromosome sets each cell holds — 2× (diploid) is typical for animals, while higher levels (polyploidy) are common in plants. Click any value below to see the underlying records and sources.
2n 8710×CCDB · book-LoveLove1977 · CCDB · book-ipcn73-74 · CCDB · eflora
n 873×CCDB · book-ipcn65 · CCDB · book-ipcn73-74 · CCDB · Cave1958
triploid1×GoaT · Kew Plant DNA C-values Database
How far back this lineage goes — and how we know. Everything here is measured in Ma, short for “mega-annum”: millions of years ago. The chart reads left to right like a calendar of the Earth, from the deep past on the left to today at the right edgetop to bottom like a core drilled through the Earth, from the deep past at the top down to today at the bottom.
At a glance
When this lineage existed
How to read this: the coloured strip along the bottomdown the left is the geological calendar — the standard epochs (Pliocene, Pleistocene…) every museum uses, shown so you can see which chapter of Earth's history this lineage lived in. This lineage is a young one, so the strip is zoomed in to epochs — the finer subdivisions inside a period. The orange marker is the DNA clock: DNA accumulates mutations at a roughly steady rate, so comparing this species' DNA with its relatives estimates when the lineage split off — independently of any fossil.
Record type8 143 records
Range
Wildobservation + sensor
Human sightings and records, or camera-trap / sensor detections — someone (or a device) saw or captured the species in the wild.
Museum / Voucheredphysical evidence
Backed by a physical specimen — a herbarium sheet, sample or voucher held in a collection. “Vouchered” means supported by material evidence, not just an observation.
Cultivated / Captivenot free-living
A living individual in a botanical garden, zoo or nursery — cultivated or kept, not free-living.
Wildobservation + sensor
Human sightings and records, or camera-trap / sensor detections — someone (or a device) saw or captured the species in the wild.
Holding institutions89 of 136 geolocated
Institutions and collections holding physical, vouchered specimens of this species — click a row to fly to it on the map.
| Institution | Specimens |
|---|---|
| Philadelphia, US | 353 |
| Wuzhou, CN | 276 |
| Knoxville, US | 217 |
| Bronx, US | 158 |
| Austin, US | 146 |
| Saint Louis, US | 130 |
| Chongqing Museumlocation not on record | 113 |
| Fort Worth, US | 107 |
| Chicago, US | 65 |
| Burlington, US | 57 |
| ASUlocation not on record | 48 |
| University of Stellenboschlocation not on record | 42 |
| Bloomington, US | 42 |
| Albuquerque, US | 41 |
| Allentown, US | 36 |
| WTUlocation not on record | 33 |
| Tuscaloosa, US | 33 |
| New Haven, US | 33 |
| Chapel Hill, US | 33 |
| Philadelphia, US | 32 |
| US | 31 |
| Flagstaff, US | 28 |
| EL PASO, US | 27 |
| Durham, US | 27 |
| Jena Microbial Resource Collectionlocation not on record | 22 |
| Museo civico La Terra e l'Uomo di Crocetta del Montellolocation not on record | 21 |
| Austin, US | 20 |
| DOI/NPS, Colonial National Historical Parklocation not on record | 20 |
| Madison, US | 19 |
| BAYLUlocation not on record | 19 |
| Denver, US | 18 |
| McWane Science Centerlocation not on record | 18 |
| College Park, US | 17 |
| Pittsburg, US | 15 |
| Millersville, US | 13 |
| Morgantown, US | 13 |
| Bangkok, TH | 13 |
| USFS/BHSClocation not on record | 12 |
| Staten Island, US | 11 |
| Mexico City, MX | 11 |
| Williamsburg, US | 10 |
| San Angelo, US | 9 |
| Ann Arbor, US | 9 |
| Tampa, US | 9 |
| Université Lavallocation not on record | 9 |
| Auckland, NZ | 8 |
| Durango, MX | 8 |
| Wichita State Universitylocation not on record | 8 |
| Phoenix, US | 8 |
| Lubbock, US | 7 |
| University of Tennessee at Chattanoogalocation not on record | 7 |
| Columbia, US | 7 |
| LDlocation not on record | 6 |
| Maryland Department of Natural Resourceslocation not on record | 6 |
| Québec, CA | 5 |
| Jackson, US | 5 |
| Claremont, US | 5 |
| Springfield, US | 5 |
| Little Rock, US | 5 |
| Santa Barbara, US | 4 |
| Logan, US | 4 |
| Instituto de Investigaciones Biológicas, Universidad Veracruzana, Región Xalapalocation not on record | 4 |
| DOI/NPS, Greenbelt Parklocation not on record | 4 |
| AUAlocation not on record | 4 |
| Giardini Botanici Hanburylocation not on record | 4 |
| Musee des Dinosaures d'Esperaza (Aude)location not on record | 4 |
| Montréal, CA | 4 |
| GB | 3 |
| Linares, MX | 3 |
| Riverside, US | 3 |
| Stephenville, US | 3 |
| DOI/NPS, Selma to Montgomery National Historic Traillocation not on record | 3 |
| Brookings, US | 3 |
| GAlocation not on record | 3 |
| Minia, EG | 3 |
| University of Calgarylocation not on record | 3 |
| USFSlocation not on record | 3 |
| University of Guelph, OAC Herbariumlocation not on record | 3 |
| Chadron, US | 3 |
| Richmond, US | 3 |
| UFPRlocation not on record | 2 |
| Moscow, US | 2 |
| Oskarshamn, SE | 2 |
| Wellington, NZ | 2 |
| New Brunswick, US | 2 |
| Norfolk, US | 2 |
| Kew, GB | 2 |
| Jefferson City, US | 2 |
| Durham, US | 2 |
| Texas A&M Universitylocation not on record | 2 |
| James F. Matthews Center for Biodiversity Studieslocation not on record | 2 |
| Davenport, US | 2 |
| Guasave, MX | 2 |
| University of New Hampshirelocation not on record | 2 |
| North Carolina Museum of Natural Scienceslocation not on record | 2 |
| Taipei, TW | 2 |
| Lord Fairfax Community Collegelocation not on record | 2 |
| Beijing, CN | 1 |
| National Biodiversity Institute, Costa Ricalocation not on record | 1 |
| Tennessee Technological Universitylocation not on record | 1 |
| Facultad de Zootecnia y Ecología, Universidad Autónoma de Chihuahualocation not on record | 1 |
| Northridge, US | 1 |
| Instituto de Ecología Aplicada, Universidad Autónoma de Tamaulipaslocation not on record | 1 |
| Johnson City, US | 1 |
| BMlocation not on record | 1 |
| US | 1 |
| Miami, US | 1 |
| Tartu, EE | 1 |
| CASlocation not on record | 1 |
| Florida Museum of Natural History- Zoology, Paleontology & Paleobotanylocation not on record | 1 |
| Toronto, CA | 1 |
| DOI/NPS, Mississippi National River & Recreation Arealocation not on record | 1 |
| Valdosta State Universitylocation not on record | 1 |
| Vancouver, CA | 1 |
| Fairfax, US | 1 |
| Institut und Museum fuer Geologie und Palaeontologielocation not on record | 1 |
| Dekalb, US | 1 |
| Whitewater, US | 1 |
| Denton, US | 1 |
| Görlitz, DE | 1 |
| Blacksburg, US | 1 |
| Shanghai Chenshan Botanical Gardenlocation not on record | 1 |
| Chicago, US | 1 |
| San Jose, US | 1 |
| Cambridge, US | 1 |
| Calabar, NG | 1 |
| Fayetteville, US | 1 |
| University of North Carolina at Pembrokelocation not on record | 1 |
| Kirksville, US | 1 |
| Universite de Montreal, L'Herbier Marie-Victorinlocation not on record | 1 |
| MEXUlocation not on record | 1 |
| New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Sciencelocation not on record | 1 |
| Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznańlocation not on record | 1 |
| US | 1 |
| Lincoln, US | 1 |
| Dresden, DE | 1 |
Cultivated / Captivenot free-living
A living individual in a botanical garden, zoo or nursery — cultivated or kept, not free-living.
Where the DNA of Pellaea atropurpurea was picked up in samples of water, soil or air — nobody saw the organism, only its DNA left behind. A trace is a clue that the species was near, not a confirmed sighting.
Signal
Where its DNA was found
How strong is each trace?
Modelled climatemodelled
How to read this: each dot is one detection of this species' DNA in an environmental sample. The confidence meter weighs how many independent studies and places back up the signal — one detection in one study is a hint; many across several studies is solid. Records dated before 2008 (when eDNA methods began) are treated as likely mislabeled and left off the map.