Etymology Gracillima means most graceful.

Description Rhizome: short-creeping, scales light brown or orange, linear.
Frond: 25 cm high by 8 cm wide, deciduous, monomorphic, blade/stipe ratio: 1:1 or less.
Stipe: dark brown, rounded above, the color extending into the rachis and costae, nearly glabrous with a few linear scales, vascular bundles: 1.
Blade: 2-pinnate, oblong-lanceolate, noncircinate vernation, wooly, branched hairs dense below, sparse above.
Pinnae: 15 to 20 pair, usually equilateral; costae brown at base, becoming green, scales below inconspicuous; segments oblong or rarely oval, convex, the largest 1.5--3 mm; margins inrolled; veins free, obscure.
Sori: linear ± continuous around segment margins, submarginal, indusium: false, sporangia: black, maturity: summer to fall.

Culture Habitat: cliffs and rocky slopes, usually on igneous substrates, sometimes serpentine. Distribution: western North America, British Columbia, western Montana south to Califormia. Hardy to -25°C, USDA Zone 5.

Distinctive Characteristics Closest to C. tomentosa, but less divided and sparsely hairy on the upper blade surface.

Synonyms
Myriopteris gracillima (D. C. Eaton) J. Smith