PELLAEA mucronata. Bird's foot fern. An unusual small fern found on rocky hillsides over much of California. It can form sizeable clumps with short, branched rhizomes underground, each branch bearing several erect 1-2' fronds. Each consists of a stiff, black, wiry stalk and a blade intricately branched into triplets of narrow, bluish green “leaflets”. Though the plant is summer dormant in the wild, each year's fronds can last well into a second season. Sun or light shade, well drained, preferably sandy soil, moderate to occasional watering (the plants may be dried out completely in summer or maintained by watering in active growth). Hardy to 10^oF or below.