Monilophytes (ferns): Leptosporangiate Ferns (true ferns): Polypodiales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/14/23):
Polystichum acrostichoides
FAMILY
Dryopteridaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
See herbarium specimens at the Atlas of Florida Vascular Plants
Read about Circular Bouquets and Variant Forms of Polystichum acrostichoides from George Ellison and the Southern Appalachian Botanical Society.
Learn more about Polystichum from the Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Polystichum acrostichoides
FAMILY
Dryopteridaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Polystichum acrostichoides
SYNONYMOUS WITH The Ferns and Lycophytes of Texas (Diggs & Lipscomb, 2014)
Polystichum acrostichoides
INCLUDING Floristic Synthesis of North America (Kartesz, 1999)
Polystichum acrostichoides var. acrostichoides
INCLUDING Floristic Synthesis of North America (Kartesz, 1999)
Polystichum acrostichoides var. lonchitoides
SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 2 (1993)
Polystichum acrostichoides
SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 011-05-001:
Polystichum acrostichoides FAMILY Aspidiaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Ferns of the Southeastern States (Small, 1938)
Polystichum acrostichoides
COMMON NAME:
Christmas Fern
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
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USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_poac4_001_lvd
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / USDA Wetland flora: Field office illustrated guide pnd_poac4_005_lvd
)
Emily B. Sessa ebspacrostichoides_3084
March
Pinnae oblong-lanceolate and short-stalked, per Field Guide to the Ferns and Other Pteridophytes of Georgia (Snyder & Bruce, 1986).
)
Jerry Bright jeb_031508_071
March Aiken County SC
Savannah River Bluffs Heritage Preserve
Fiddleheads scaly and stout, with silvery white scales, per Peterson Field Guide to Ferns of Northeastern and Central North America.
)
JK Marlow jkm0403c_31
March Oconee County SC
Sumter National Forest: Andrew Pickens Ranger District
Sterile fronds and nonfertile portions of fertile fronds evergreen, per Peterson Field Guide to Ferns of Northeastern and Central North America.
)
Emily B. Sessa ebspacrostichoides_7908
April
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JK Marlow jkm080420_005
April Sevier County TN
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
)
JK Marlow jkm150406_068
April Greenville County SC
)
JK Marlow jkm150406_070071
April Greenville County SC
Scales dense, light brown, per Peterson Field Guide to Ferns of Northeastern and Central North America.
)
JK Marlow jkm200415_3890
April Greenville County SC
Tall Pines Wildlife Management Area
Margins bristle-toothed, per Field Guide to the Ferns and Other Pteridophytes of Georgia (Snyder & Bruce, 1986).
)
Mark A. Musselman mam_christmasfern041408
April Dorchester County SC
Audubon Center at Francis Beidler Forest
An interesting "hug".
)
Stephanie C. Brundage scb_041421hayesville01
April Clay County NC
)
Stephanie C. Brundage scb_041421hayesville05
April Clay County NC
)
Stephanie C. Brundage scb_041421hayesville09
April Clay County NC
)
Emily B. Sessa ebspacrostichoides_9245
May
A distinctive lobe on pinna's upper side, like the toe of a Xmas stocking, per Peterson Field Guide to Ferns of Northeastern and Central North America.
)
Emily B. Sessa ebspacrostichoides_9270
May
)
Emily B. Sessa ebspacrostichoides_9277
May
)
Gill Newberry gn05_sori_christmas_fern
May
)
JK Marlow jkm160505_510
May Jackson County NC
Is this the only fern whose fiddlehead arches backward before fully opening???
)
JK Marlow jkm200505_4656
May Spartanburg County SC
Round sori and peltate indusia are briefly "golden beads & silver trumpets!", per Dan Whitten.
)
JK Marlow jkm210523_0752
May Greenville County SC
Ashmore Heritage Preserve
Fertile pinnae are constricted, widely spaced, and confined to leaf apex, per Ferns of the Smokies (Evans, 2005).
)
JK Marlow s000615_g
June Greenville County SC
Creekside/Riverside
)
Keith Bradley kab_p_acrostichoides_8280
October Calhoun County SC
Congaree Bluffs Heritage Preserve
Sori nearly cover the underside of fertile pinnae, per Ferns of the Smokies (Evans, 2005).
)
Sharleen Johnson shj_555882285965706
December Charleston County SC
Francis Marion National Forest
)
Tim Spira tpspacrostichoides
Month Unknown
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/14/23):
Polystichum acrostichoides
FAMILY
Dryopteridaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Polystichum acrostichoides
FAMILY
Dryopteridaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Polystichum acrostichoides
SYNONYMOUS WITH
The Ferns and Lycophytes of Texas (Diggs & Lipscomb, 2014)
Polystichum acrostichoides
INCLUDING
Floristic Synthesis of North America (Kartesz, 1999)
Polystichum acrostichoides var. acrostichoides
INCLUDING
Floristic Synthesis of North America (Kartesz, 1999)
Polystichum acrostichoides var. lonchitoides
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 2
Polystichum acrostichoides
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 011-05-001:
Polystichum acrostichoides
FAMILY
Aspidiaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Ferns of the Southeastern States (Small, 1938)
Polystichum acrostichoides
1133
Fern/Fern ally
Perennial
Habitat: Moist to dry forests and woodlands, especially slopes, ravines, and small stream bottomlands, 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
Pinnate
Leaves clustered at tip of 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) p166
- The Ferns and Lycophytes of Texas (Diggs & Lipscomb, 2014) p152
- Ferns of Alabama (Short & Spaulding, 2012) p273
- Forest Plants of the Southeast and Their Wildlife Uses (Miller & Miller, 2005) p412
- Gardening with Native Plants of the South (Wasowski & Wasowski, 1994, 2020) p120
- Gardening with the Native Plants of Tennessee (Hunter, 2002) p202
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 2nd ed. (McMillan, Porcher, Rayner, & White; 2022) p240
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 2nd ed. (McMillan, Porcher, Rayner, & White; 2022) p152
- Peterson Field Guide to Ferns of Northeastern and Central North America p198
- Wildflowers & Plant Communities of the Southern Appalachian Mountains and Piedmont (Spira, 2011) p429
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