Cheilanthes lindheimeri  Fairy Sword
XEROPHYTIC FERN.  Probably the most common desert fern in southern Arizona.  Broad, triangular grayish-green tripinnate leaves are covered in rough grayish-white fuzz on top, and rough brown scales underneath.  Like all desert ferns, it curls up and looks dead in dry weather and revives after rain.  Found on granitic rocks, including rhyolite and arkose (coarse granite-derived sandstone).  In the Empires, it is especially abundant among granite tors, where it forms spectacular stands in fractures and ledges.
FAMILY:  Pteridaceae (True Ferns)