Pentagramma

{{Short description|Genus of ferns}}

{{Automatic taxobox

| image = Pentagramma triangularis 1.jpg

| image_caption = Pentagramma triangularis

| taxon = Pentagramma

| authority = Yatsk., Windham & E.Wollenw.

| subdivision_ranks = Species

| subdivision = See text.

}}

Pentagramma is a small genus of North American ferns in the family Pteridaceae. Until 1990 members of this genus were included in Pityrogramma, and there has been considerable disagreement regarding the species' taxonomy.{{Cite journal|last1=Yatskievych|first1=George|last2=Windham|first2=Michael D.|last3=Wollenweber|first3=Eckhard|date=1990|title=A Reconsideration of the Genus Pityrogramma (Adiantaceae) in Western North America|jstor=1547301|journal=American Fern Journal|volume=80|issue=1|pages=9–17|doi=10.2307/1547301}} In the most recent treatment, six diploid species are recognized.{{Cite journal|last1=Schuettpelz|first1=Eric|last2=Pryer|first2=Kathleen M.|last3=Windham|first3=Michael D.|date=2015-10-01|title=A Unified Approach to Taxonomic Delimitation in the Fern Genus Pentagramma (Pteridaceae)|url=http://openurl.ingenta.com/content/xref?genre=article&issn=0363-6445&volume=40&issue=3&spage=629|journal=Systematic Botany|language=en|volume=40|issue=3|pages=629–644|doi=10.1600/036364415x689366|issn=0363-6445|hdl=10161/10796|s2cid=18266345|hdl-access=free|url-access=subscription}}

The distribution of P. triangularis (goldback fern) extends from British Columbia through the western United States into Baja California in northwestern Mexico.C.Michael Hogan, ed. 2010. [http://www.eol.org/pages/486561 ‘’Pentagramma triangularis’’ . Encyclopedia of Life.] Pentagramma maxonii occurs in New Mexico, Arizona, Sonora, Baja California Sur, California, and Baja California. All other species are restricted to California and Baja California.

Members of the genus Pentagramma produce a powdery-waxy secretion on their lower leaf surfaces, called farina. This character is shared with the related genus Notholaenaand other members of the Cheilanthoideae.