Taxonomy
Family: Osmundaceae
Habitat
Peaty habitats. Springy sites. Swampy woodlands and bogs.
Associates
Distribution
Throughout eastern U.S. and Canada.
Morphology
Perennial. Leaves clustered, to 1.5 m, the petiole densely wooly when young; blade pinnate-pinnatifid, dimorphic; sterile frond and individual pinnae long-attenuate; segments alternate, 15-20 to a side; fertile frond central, surrounded by the larger sterile fronds, covered with cinnamon-brown sporangia.
Notes
Spores early May to early June.
Wetland indicator: Facultative Wetland
The common name presumably refers to the color of the fertile frond or the persistent hairs at the base of each pinna. The veins of the pinnules are branched.
References
Gleason, Henry A. and A. Cronquist. 1991. Manual of Vascular Plants of Northeastern United States and Adjacent Canada. Second Ed.
The New York Botanical Garden. Bronx, NY
Swink, F. and G. Wilhelm. 1994. Plants of the Chicago Region.
Indiana Academy of Science. The Morton Arboretum. Lisle, Illinois.
Michael Hough © 2005 |