Monilophytes (ferns): Leptosporangiate Ferns (true ferns): Polypodiales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Sitobolium punctilobulum
FAMILY
Dennstaedtiaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Learn more about Hay-scented Fern from the Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Dennstaedtia punctilobula
FAMILY
Dennstaedtiaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America
Dennstaedtia punctilobula
SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 010-02-001:
Dennstaedtia punctilobula FAMILY Pteridaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Ferns of the Southeastern States (Small, 1938)
Dennstaedtia punctilobula
COMMON NAME:
Hay-scented Fern, Pasture Fern, Boulder Fern
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_depu2_001_lvd
)
Emily B. Sessa ebs_dpunctilobata_9418
May
)
Emily B. Sessa ebs_dpunctilobata_9421
May
Rachis covered with fine, light-colored hairs, per Field Guide to the Ferns and Other Pteridophytes of Georgia (Snyder & Bruce, 1986).
)
JK Marlow jkm150509_013
May Dawson County GA
Dawson Forest WMA
Called "hay-scented" because of the alfalfa-like fragrance of the fronds, per Field Guide to the Ferns and Other Pteridophytes of Georgia (Snyder & Bruce, 1986).
)
JK Marlow jkm150509_014
May Dawson County GA
Dawson Forest WMA
)
JK Marlow jkm230505_3062
May Transylvania County NC
DuPont State Forest
)
JK Marlow jkm0406i_33
June Macon County NC
Nantahala National Forest: Wayah Bald
Leaves yellow-green or pale-green, with whitish-gray glandular trichomes, per Weakley's Flora.
)
JK Marlow jkm120616_934
June Greenville County SC
Jones Gap State Park
Stipe brown or almost black at base, lighter above, covered w white hairs, per Peterson Field Guide to Ferns of Northeastern and Central North America.
)
JK Marlow jkm120616_936
June Greenville County SC
Jones Gap State Park
Blade widest near the bottom, bipinnate to bipinnate-pinnatifid, per Field Guide to the Ferns and Other Pteridophytes of Georgia (Snyder & Bruce, 1986).
)
JK Marlow jkm140607_486
June Jackson County NC
Whiteside Mountain
)
JK Marlow jkm140607_488
June Jackson County NC
Whiteside Mountain
Confusingly, "delicate ladies with hairy legs" refers to S. Ladyfern not this.
)
JK Marlow jkm140607_492
June Jackson County NC
Whiteside Mountain
)
JK Marlow jkm160827_035b
August Henderson County NC
Bearwallow Mountain
Sori marginal, in notches of pinnules, borne in cuplike indusia, per Field Guide to the Ferns and Other Pteridophytes of Georgia (Snyder & Bruce, 1986).
)
JK Marlow jkm210807_2474
August Transylvania County NC
DuPont State Forest
Fronds on long rhizomes, forming vigorous colonies in open disturbed areas, per Peterson Field Guide to Ferns of Northeastern and Central North America.
)
JK Marlow jkm210807_2589
August Transylvania County NC
DuPont State Forest
)
JK Marlow jkm190914_1555
September Swain County NC
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Blades tacky to the touch w glandular hairs covering pinnae, stipe & rachis, per Peterson Field Guide to Ferns of Northeastern and Central North America.
)
JK Marlow jkm190914_1557
September Swain County NC
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
)
Patrick D. McMillan pdmdpunctilobula_allco
Month Unknown
Forms large monotypic colonies in acidic woodlands in southern Appalachians. — Patrick McMillan
)
Patrick D. McMillan pdmdpunctilobula_ch1
Month Unknown
Blades ovate-lanceolate, slightly narrowed at base, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Sitobolium punctilobulum
FAMILY
Dennstaedtiaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Dennstaedtia punctilobula
FAMILY
Dennstaedtiaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Flora of North America
Dennstaedtia punctilobula
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 010-02-001:
Dennstaedtia punctilobula
FAMILY
Pteridaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Ferns of the Southeastern States (Small, 1938)
Dennstaedtia punctilobula
442
Fern/Fern ally
Perennial
Habitat: Rocky or dry woodlands and forests, rock outcrops, pastures, clearings, roadbanks, per Weakley's Flora
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Common in Mountains (uncommon in NC Piedmont, rare elsewhere in GA-NC-SC)
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
LEAVES:
Deciduous
2-pinnate to 2-pinnate-pinnatifid
Leaves borne scattered (as clonal patches)
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) p070
- Ferns of Alabama (Short & Spaulding, 2012) p183
- Ferns of the Smokies (Evans, 2005) p53
- Gardening with the Native Plants of Tennessee (Hunter, 2002) p196
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 2nd ed. (McMillan, Porcher, Rayner, & White; 2022) p173
- Peterson Field Guide to Ferns of Northeastern and Central North America p116
- Wildflowers & Plant Communities of the Southern Appalachian Mountains and Piedmont (Spira, 2011) p360
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