Monilophytes (ferns): Leptosporangiate Ferns (true ferns): Polypodiales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Pleopeltis michauxiana
FAMILY
Polypodiaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
The blade is green above but buffy to grayish below and covered there with rounded, blackish scales -- looking "pimpled". In dry weather, the blade curls nearly into a ball. The other two "polypody ferns" -- Polypodium appalachianum and P. virginianum -- have no such dark scales on the blade undersides and have a darker green blade above. Learn more at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Pleopeltis polypodioides ssp. michauxiana
FAMILY
Polypodiaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Pleopeltis michauxiana
SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America
Pleopeltis polypodioides var. michauxiana
SYNONYMOUS WITH The Ferns and Lycophytes of Texas (Diggs & Lipscomb, 2014)
Pleopeltis polypodioides var. michauxiana
INCLUDED WITHIN VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 014-01-002:
Polypodium polypodioides FAMILY Polypodiaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Britton & Brown Illus Flora of Northeast US & adjacent Canada (Gleason, 1952)
Polypodium polypodioides var. michauxianum
SYNONYMOUS WITH Ferns of the Southeastern States (Small, 1938)
Marginaria polypodioides
COMMON NAME:
Resurrection Fern, Scaly Polypody
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
JK Marlow jkm0502a_14
February Greenville County SC
Chandler Heritage Preserve
Fronds curl up when dry, revive with rain, per Field Guide to the Ferns and Other Pteridophytes of Georgia (Snyder & Bruce, 1986).
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JK Marlow jkm150228_784
February Charleston County SC
)
JK Marlow jkm0303g_11
March Beaufort County SC
Hunting Island State Park
)
JK Marlow jkm140420_450
April Greenville County SC
Chandler Heritage Preserve
Outlines of the sori appear as raised bumps on upper side of pinnae, per Peterson Field Guide to Ferns of Northeastern and Central North America.
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JK Marlow jkm140420_453
April Greenville County SC
Chandler Heritage Preserve
Sori submarginal on the lobes of the pinnatifid blade, without indusia, per Ferns of the Smokies (Evans, 2005).
)
JK Marlow jkm140420_455
April Greenville County SC
Chandler Heritage Preserve
)
JK Marlow jkm180408_1095
April McCormick County SC
Parks Mill
Undersurfaces have pointed gray scales with dark reddish brown centers, per Peterson Field Guide to Ferns of Northeastern and Central North America.
)
JK Marlow jkm200415_3839
April Greenville County SC
Chandler Heritage Preserve
)
Keith Bradley kab_p_polypod_micha_09153
April Collier County FL
)
Tim Spira tpsppolypodioides2
April
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JK Marlow jkm220605_8251
June Greenville County SC
Chandler Heritage Preserve
)
JK Marlow jkm220605_8254
June Greenville County SC
Chandler Heritage Preserve
Pinnae oblong with obtuse tips, per Field Guide to the Ferns and Other Pteridophytes of Georgia (Snyder & Bruce, 1986).
)
Sharleen Johnson shj_837424427501079
December Charleston County SC
Francis Marion National Forest
)
Sharleen Johnson shj_905120183987368
December Charleston County SC
Francis Marion National Forest
)
Teri Nye nye_pleopeltis_scales
Month Unknown Glynn County GA
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Pleopeltis michauxiana
FAMILY
Polypodiaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Pleopeltis polypodioides ssp. michauxiana
FAMILY
Polypodiaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Pleopeltis michauxiana
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Flora of North America
Pleopeltis polypodioides var. michauxiana
SYNONYMOUS WITH
The Ferns and Lycophytes of Texas (Diggs & Lipscomb, 2014)
Pleopeltis polypodioides var. michauxiana
INCLUDED WITHIN
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 014-01-002:
Polypodium polypodioides
FAMILY
Polypodiaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Britton & Brown Illus Flora of Northeast US & adjacent Canada (Gleason, 1952)
Polypodium polypodioides var. michauxianum
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Ferns of the Southeastern States (Small, 1938)
Marginaria polypodioides
1131
Fern/Fern ally
Perennial
Habitat: On tree limbs and trunks (especially when leaning) in a wide variety of forest types, especially southwards, and less typically (but not uncommonly) on rocks, per Weakley's Flora
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Common
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
LEAVES:
Evergreen
Pinnatifid
Leaves spaced along a creeping, much-branched rhizome
FRUIT:
Summer/Fall
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Field Guide to the Ferns and Other Pteridophytes of Georgia (Snyder & Bruce, 1986) p042
- The Ferns and Lycophytes of Texas (Diggs & Lipscomb, 2014) p201
- Ferns of Alabama (Short & Spaulding, 2012) p285
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 1st ed. (Porcher & Rayner, 2001) p357
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 2nd ed. (McMillan, Porcher, Rayner, & White; 2022) p107
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 2nd ed. (McMillan, Porcher, Rayner, & White; 2022) p506
- Peterson Field Guide to Ferns of Northeastern and Central North America p190
- Wildflowers of the Carolina Lowcountry (Porcher, 1995) p087
- Wildflowers & Plant Communities of the Southern Appalachian Mountains and Piedmont (Spira, 2011) p425
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