OF THE CAROLINAS & GEORGIA

Monilophytes (ferns): Leptosporangiate Ferns (true ferns): Polypodiales

WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/14/23):
Dryopteris erythrosora   FAMILY Dryopteridaceae   Go to FSUS key



SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)

Dryopteris erythrosora

 

COMMON NAME:
Autumn Fern, Japanese Red Shield-fern, Japanese Shield-fern


         To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.

image of Dryopteris erythrosora, Autumn Fern, Japanese Red Shield-fern, Japanese Shield-fern

Frank Holleman    fsh_0157

April    Greenville County    SC

Young fronds are orange-red to copper-pink, changing to bright then deep green by summer, per New Invaders of the Southeast (Rawlins et al., 2018).

image of Dryopteris erythrosora, Autumn Fern, Japanese Red Shield-fern, Japanese Shield-fern

Frank Holleman    fsh_0158

April    Greenville County    SC

The reproductive structures containing the spores are bright brick red, per New Invaders of the Southeast (Rawlins et al., 2018).

image of Dryopteris erythrosora, Autumn Fern, Japanese Red Shield-fern, Japanese Shield-fern

JK Marlow    jkm190506_8158

May    Greenville County    SC

Swamp Rabbit Trail

image of Dryopteris erythrosora, Autumn Fern, Japanese Red Shield-fern, Japanese Shield-fern

JK Marlow    jkm190506_8159

May    Greenville County    SC

Swamp Rabbit Trail

image of Dryopteris erythrosora, Autumn Fern, Japanese Red Shield-fern, Japanese Shield-fern

JK Marlow    jkm190506_8160

May    Greenville County    SC

Swamp Rabbit Trail

image of Dryopteris erythrosora, Autumn Fern, Japanese Red Shield-fern, Japanese Shield-fern

JK Marlow    jkm190506_8162

May    Greenville County    SC

Swamp Rabbit Trail

I'm told that plants which have naturalized for a while are less likely to have red sori.

image of Dryopteris erythrosora, Autumn Fern, Japanese Red Shield-fern, Japanese Shield-fern

JK Marlow    jkm220517_7868

May    Greenville County    SC

Blackwell Heritage Preserve

image of Dryopteris erythrosora, Autumn Fern, Japanese Red Shield-fern, Japanese Shield-fern

JK Marlow    jkm220517_7871

May    Greenville County    SC

Blackwell Heritage Preserve

Costa with bullate (blistered-appearing) scales abundant, usually dark, per Weakley's Flora (2022).

image of Dryopteris erythrosora, Autumn Fern, Japanese Red Shield-fern, Japanese Shield-fern

JK Marlow    jkm220517_7885

May    Greenville County    SC

Blackwell Heritage Preserve

An exotic species, but tends to grow in "wild" places that make it appear to be native, per Vascular Plants of North Carolina.

image of Dryopteris erythrosora, Autumn Fern, Japanese Red Shield-fern, Japanese Shield-fern

JK Marlow    jkm220517_7887

May    Greenville County    SC

Blackwell Heritage Preserve

image of Dryopteris erythrosora, Autumn Fern, Japanese Red Shield-fern, Japanese Shield-fern

JK Marlow    jkm190614_9127

June    Greenville County    SC

Swamp Rabbit Trail

image of Dryopteris erythrosora, Autumn Fern, Japanese Red Shield-fern, Japanese Shield-fern

JK Marlow    jkm190614_9133

June    Greenville County    SC

Swamp Rabbit Trail

image of Dryopteris erythrosora, Autumn Fern, Japanese Red Shield-fern, Japanese Shield-fern

JK Marlow    jkm190614_9140

June    Greenville County    SC

Swamp Rabbit Trail

This species seems to be on its way to being an aggressive invasive, per Weakley's Flora (2020).

image of Dryopteris erythrosora, Autumn Fern, Japanese Red Shield-fern, Japanese Shield-fern

JK Marlow    jkm230809_4917

August    Greenville County    SC

Core Bunched Arrowhead Heritage Preserve

image of Dryopteris erythrosora, Autumn Fern, Japanese Red Shield-fern, Japanese Shield-fern

JK Marlow    jkm230809_4918

August    Greenville County    SC

Core Bunched Arrowhead Heritage Preserve

image of Dryopteris erythrosora, Autumn Fern, Japanese Red Shield-fern, Japanese Shield-fern

JK Marlow    jkm200911_7187

September    Greenville County    SC

Swamp Rabbit Trail

Fronds twice-divided, 1-2' long, per New Invaders of the Southeast (Rawlins et al., 2018).

image of Dryopteris erythrosora, Autumn Fern, Japanese Red Shield-fern, Japanese Shield-fern

JK Marlow    jkm200911_7189

September    Greenville County    SC

Swamp Rabbit Trail

Costa with abundant blistered-looking scales. Sori medial or submedial, per Weakley's Flora (2020).

image of Dryopteris erythrosora, Autumn Fern, Japanese Red Shield-fern, Japanese Shield-fern

JK Marlow    jkm141022_181

October    Greenville County    SC

image of Dryopteris erythrosora, Autumn Fern, Japanese Red Shield-fern, Japanese Shield-fern

JK Marlow    jkm141022_181b

October    Greenville County    SC

image of Dryopteris erythrosora, Autumn Fern, Japanese Red Shield-fern, Japanese Shield-fern

JK Marlow    jkm141022_207

October    Greenville County    SC

image of Dryopteris erythrosora, Autumn Fern, Japanese Red Shield-fern, Japanese Shield-fern

JK Marlow    jkm141022_222

October    Greenville County    SC

 

 

WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/14/23):
Dryopteris erythrosora   FAMILY Dryopteridaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Dryopteris erythrosora

 

Find by SCIENTIFIC NAME:

4139

Fern/Fern ally

Habitat: Suburban woodlands, especially in ravines and along creeks, per Weakley's Flora

Non-native: Japan, China & Korea

Uncommon in GA Piedmont, rare elsewhere

map
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.

Click here to see a map showing all occurrences known to SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria. (Zoom in to see more detail.)


Invasive?

This plant may be causing problems in natural areas outside its native range, according to authorities such as:

 

LEAVES:
Evergreen (semi-evergreen in cold climates)
1-pinnate-pinnatifid to 2-pinnate (or to 2-pinnate-pinnatifid in lower pinnae)

RHIZOMES? STOLONS?
Cespitose [growing in dense tufts, clumping]

FRUIT:
Summer/Fall

 

TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!



 


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