Name: |
- Dryopteris, from the Greek, drus
(drys), "oak" and pteris
(pteris), "fern", "fern of the oak wood"
- marginalis, from the Latin marginatus, "to border,
enclose with a margin".
- Common name from the location of the spore bearing sori along leaf edge.
- Other common names include Evergreen Wood Fern, Leather Wood Fern, Marginal
Wood Fern, Marginal-fruited Shield Fern, Dryoptère à Sores
Marginaux (Qué), Varen (NL)
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Taxonomy: |
- Kingdom Plantae, the Plants
- Division Polypodiophyta, the True Ferns
- Class Filicopsida
- Order Polypodiales
- Family Dryopteridaceae, the Wood Ferns
- Genus Dryopteris, the Wood Ferns
- Taxonomic Serial Number: 17541
- Also known as Aspidium marginale, Polypodium marginale,
Thelypteris marginalis
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Description: |
- A large, leathery woodland fern with fronds borne in crown-like cluster.
- Fronds monomorphic, evergreen, 5"-8" wide and 12"-24"
long; lanceolate to ovate-oblong.
- Petiole (leaf stalk) stout and brittle with grooved face; reddish
brown at swollen base, becoming brownish green above; covered with golden
brown scales.
- Blade ovate-lanceolate, blue green above with light green undersides;
texture leathery.
- Rachis (axis) pale, grooved in front, somewhat scaly.
- Pinnae (primary leaflets) lanceolate and more-or-less in plane
of blade; lowest pair slightly reduced in size.
- Pinnules (secondary leaflets) lowest pair longer than adjacent
pinnules; basal basiscopic pinnule (lowest downward pointing subleaflet
on lowest pinnae) longer than basal acroscopic pinnule (lowest upward
pointing subleaflet on lowest pinnae); pinnule edges shallowly crinkled
to nearly smooth.
- Rootstalk stout, erect or ascending, ungrooved, brown-green above,
darker near base, 6"-12" long and 1"-2" thick, covered
with brown, closely overlapping leaf bases and soft, brown, chaffy scales.
- Roots many, shallowly spreading, and often exposed.
- Fiddleheads densely covered with golden brown hairs.
- Sori located on the pinnae edges or margins, hence the species
name.
- Indusia kidney shaped, prominent.
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Identification: |
- Identifiable as a Wood Fern by its larger size, thrice-cut fronds, and
woodland habitat.
- Distinguished from more typical Wood Ferns (Dryopteris
sp.) by its leathery texture and its characteristic sori, neatly arranged
along the margins of the leaflets.
- Field Marks
- leathery blades
- sori borne near margins
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Distribution: |
- Ontario to Newfoundland and Greenland, south to Mississippi, Alabama,
Georgia, and South Carolina.
- Classified as Threatened in Minnesota.
- While not collected from our area, it is known from similar habitat in
northwestern Wisconsin and on Isle Royale, and should not be completely
unexpected in northeastern Minnesota.
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Habitat: |
- Rich woodlands, woodland edges, ravines, rocky slopes or outcroppings,
stream banks and roadbanks.
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Fire: |
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Associates: |
- Trees: Balsam Fir (Abies balsamea),
Paper Birch (Betula papyrifera),
White Spruce (Picea glauca),
White Pine (Pinus strobus),
Balsam Poplar (Populus balsamifera),
Quaking Aspen (Populus tremuloides),
White Cedar (Thuja occidentalis)
- Shrubs: Bunchberry (Cornus
canadensis)
- Herbs: Wild Sarsaparilla (Aralia
nudicaulis) Large Leaf Aster (Aster
macrophyllus), Blue Bead Lily (Clintonia
borealis), Canada Mayflower (Maianthemum
canadense), Rattlesnakeroot (Prenanthes alba)
- Ferns: Bladder Ferns (Cystopteris
spp.), Wood Ferns (Dryopteris spp.),
Common Polypody
(Polypodium virginiana)
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History: |
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Uses: |
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Reproduction: |
- By spore and vegetatively by rhizome.
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Propagation: |
- By division of small crowns near main rosette.
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Cultivation: |
- Hardy to USDA Zone 3 (average minimum annual temperature -40ºF)
- Cultural Requirements
- Shade to part shade
- Moist, organic soil
- Protect from sun and drying winds
- Size 18"-24"H x 12"-18"W
- Available by mail order from specialty suppliers or at local nurseries
- Good for shaded rock or woodland garden, native gardens. Spreads slowly.
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Links: |
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Comments: |
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Last Updated on
26 February, 2004
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