Polypodium virginianum L. - Polypody


 

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Polypodium virginianum - (image 1 of 5)

 

Taxonomy

Family: Polypodiaceae

Habitat

Rocky limestone and sandstone cliffs. Steep slopes of wooded dunes.

Associates

On limestone with Aquilegia canadensis, Campanula rotundifolia, Cystopteris bulbifera, Pellaea glabella. On sandstone with Cerastium arvense villosum, Diervilla lonicera, Hedeoma hispida, Juniperus virginiana crebra, Linaria canadensis, Lonicera prolifera, Ostrya virginiana, Selaginella rupestris.

Distribution

Newfoundland to Manitoba, south to GA, AL, TN, AR, MO, IA, SD, and MN

Morphology

Evergreen fern from a creeping rootstock, to 12" high. Leaves oblong lanceolate or triangular; 10 to 20 pairs of long, rounded lobes, 3-5 times longer than wide, cut almost to the stem (pinnatifid); stalk about 1/3 length of leaf. Fruit dots large, round, gold-brown, mostly on upper portion of leaves.

Notes

Spores from mid October to late November

Wetland indicator: Upland

This fern is epipetric, often seen growing on rocks in mountainous regions, occasionally terrestrial or epiphytic on trees.

References

Cobb, B. 1984. A Field Guide to Ferns and Their Related Families.
Houghton Mifflin Co., New York, NY

 

Lellinger, D. B. and M. Evans. 1985. A Field Manual of the Ferns & Fern Allies of the United States and Canada.
Smithsonian Institution Press. Washington, D.C.

 

Swink, F. and G. Wilhelm. 1994. Plants of the Chicago Region.
Indiana Academy of Science. The Morton Arboretum. Lisle, Illinois.

 


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 Michael Hough © 2005