Monilophytes (ferns): Leptosporangiate Ferns (true ferns): Polypodiales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Athyrium asplenioides
FAMILY
Athyriaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
See herbarium specimens at the Atlas of Florida Vascular Plants.
Learn more about Southern Lady Fern from the Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Athyrium filix-femina ssp. asplenioides
FAMILY
Dryopteridaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Athyrium asplenioides
SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America
Athyrium filix-femina var. asplenioides
SYNONYMOUS WITH The Ferns and Lycophytes of Texas (Diggs & Lipscomb, 2014)
Athyrium filix-femina ssp. asplenioides
SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 011-01-001:
Athyrium asplenioides FAMILY Aspidiaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Ferns of the Southeastern States (Small, 1938)
Athyrium asplenioides
COMMON NAME:
Southern Lady Fern
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
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JK Marlow jkm220412_6670
April Greenville County SC
Bald Rock Heritage Preserve
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JK Marlow jkm220412_6671
April Greenville County SC
Bald Rock Heritage Preserve
)
JK Marlow jkm080505_018
May Spartanburg County SC
Chinquapin Greenway
Pinnules deep-cut and toothed, blunt-tipped, per Field Guide to the Ferns and Other Pteridophytes of Georgia (Snyder & Bruce, 1986).
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JK Marlow jkm230525_3492
May Jackson County NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
)
JK Marlow jkm230525_3493
May Jackson County NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
)
JK Marlow jkm230525_3494
May Jackson County NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
Costal grooves continuous with the rachis groove, per Weakley's Flora (2015).
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JK Marlow jkm230525_3497
May Jackson County NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
"Delicate ladies with hairy legs" refers to the scales on the stipe, per Peterson Field Guide to Ferns of Northeastern and Central North America.
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JK Marlow jkm160702_008b
July Jackson County NC
Sori elongate along veins, straight to hooked or curved, per The Ferns and Lycophytes of Texas (Diggs & Lipscomb, 2014).
)
JK Marlow jkm160702_010b
July Jackson County NC
Indusia attached along one side of sori, the attachment as long as the sori, per The Ferns and Lycophytes of Texas (Diggs & Lipscomb, 2014).
)
JK Marlow jkm160723_008b
July Spartanburg County SC
Chinquapin Greenway
Numerous sori, in two rows midway between midvein and margin, per Field Guide to the Ferns and Other Pteridophytes of Georgia (Snyder & Bruce, 1986).
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JK Marlow jkm120830_273
August Henderson County NC
Holmes Educational Forest
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JK Marlow s071022_abc
October Greenville County SC
Creekside/Riverside
Petioles as long as blade, reddish or light green. Blade widest @ 2nd pinna, per Ferns of the Smokies (Evans, 2005).
)
JK Marlow s071022_d
October Greenville County SC
Creekside/Riverside
Pinnules become shorter toward the rachis, per Ferns of the Smokies (Evans, 2005).
)
Sharleen Johnson shj_1213563672566231
December Charleston County SC
Francis Marion National Forest
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Athyrium asplenioides
FAMILY
Athyriaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Athyrium filix-femina ssp. asplenioides
FAMILY
Dryopteridaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Athyrium asplenioides
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Flora of North America
Athyrium filix-femina var. asplenioides
SYNONYMOUS WITH
The Ferns and Lycophytes of Texas (Diggs & Lipscomb, 2014)
Athyrium filix-femina ssp. asplenioides
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 011-01-001:
Athyrium asplenioides
FAMILY
Aspidiaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Ferns of the Southeastern States (Small, 1938)
Athyrium asplenioides
176
Fern/Fern ally
Perennial
Habitat: Moist forests, bottomlands, streambanks, 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:
Deciduous
2-pinnate-pinnatifid
Leaves clustered behind tip of short-creeping rhizome
FRUIT:
Spring/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) p114
- The Ferns and Lycophytes of Texas (Diggs & Lipscomb, 2014) p107
- Ferns of Alabama (Short & Spaulding, 2012) p249
- Ferns of the Smokies (Evans, 2005) p71
- Forest Plants of the Southeast and Their Wildlife Uses (Miller & Miller, 2005) p408
- Gardening with Native Plants of the South (Wasowski & Wasowski, 1994, 2020) p122
- Gardening with the Native Plants of Tennessee (Hunter, 2002) p195
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 2nd ed. (McMillan, Porcher, Rayner, & White; 2022) p227
- Peterson Field Guide to Ferns of Northeastern and Central North America p088
- Wildflowers & Plant Communities of the Southern Appalachian Mountains and Piedmont (Spira, 2011) p340
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