This fern was just off the trail, and seemed a little dry (there were some arms that were brown as opposed to green). It was one of the few ferns I observed at Corona Heights; the majority of them were off the trail, just far enough to avoid any good pictures.
I identified this as a Narrowleaf Swordfern by the size and color of its leaves, as well as the shape of the individual leaflets.
Growing out the side of a large wet rock outcrop. It's P. imbricans because of its small size and because the bracts on the stem of the leaf are small.
Polystichum imbricans is a species of fern known by the common name narrowleaf sword fern. It is native to western North America from British Columbia to southern California, where it grows in rocky habitat in coastal and inland mountain ranges and foothills. This fern produces several erect linear or lance-shaped leaves up to 80 centimeters long. Each leaf is made up of many narrow, overlapping, sometimes twisting leaflets each 2 to 4 centimeters long. The leaflets...
