Polystichum acrostichoides
Table of Contents
Common Name: Christmas Fern
Scientific Classification
| Kingdom: Plantae |
| Phylum: Tracheophyta |
| Class: Polypodiopsida |
| Order: Polypodiales |
| Family: Dryopteridaceae |
| Genus: Polystichum |
| Species: Polystichum acrostichoides |
Conservation Status
Identifying Features
The Christmas fern is between 18 and 30 inches long. Fronds are once compound, have 20-40 leaflets, and are usually alternating. They hare finely toothed and uneven at the base.
Habitat & Range
These ferns live in moist forests and near streams in Eastern North America.
Life Cycle
The sori, that produce spores, are rounded, and cover the undersides of the leaflets. The Christmas fern’s fronds are evergreen, and can be found year-round.
Featured image by James Dake.
Related
Dryopteris carthusiana
Spinulose Wood Fern
Thelypteris noveboracensis
New York Fern
noclea sensibilis
Sensitive Fern