Spiny Cliffbrake (Pellaea truncata) has been added to my Wildflowers of Tucson, Arizona website in the "Other Plants" section.

Surprisingly, quite a few species of ferns grow here in the Sonoran Desert. Spiny Cliffbrake, like the other desert ferns here, usually grows in rocky areas where it can find a little extra shade and protection beneath large rocks or in rock crevices. During the hot, dry times of the year here in the desert, ferns will become dry and brown, but this does not mean that they are dead. They remain very much alive, and with sufficient rain, they will quickly turn green and leaf out again.