Phegopteris hexagonoptera (Michx.) Fée - Broad Beech Fern


 

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Phegopteris hexagonoptera - (image 1 of 6)

 

Taxonomy

Family: Thelypteridaceae

 

Synonymous with Thelypteris hexagonoptera (Michx.) Weatherby

Habitat

Moist to somewhat dry woods and thickets.

Associates

 

 Distribution

Quebec and ME to Ontario and MN, south to northern FL and TX.

Morphology

Leaves deciduous, to 80 cm, scattered on long, slender, sparingly hairy and densely scaly rhizomes. Leaf blades to 40 cm, mostly a little wider than long, bipinnatifid, the lowest pair of pinnae enlarges and widely spreading; rachis winged throughout; pinnar to 7 cm wide; veins simple or sometimes a few forked; scales of rachis few, whitish, lance-triangular.

Notes

Spores produced late summer

Wetland indicator: Upland

Phegopteris connectilis (Long Beech Fern) is similar but more slender and its rachis is not herbaceous-winged between the two lowest pairs of pinnae.

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

 


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 Michael Hough © 2018