Monilophytes (ferns): Leptosporangiate Ferns (true ferns): Polypodiales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Pteridium pseudocaudatum
FAMILY
Dennstaedtiaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Pinnules of P. pseudocaudatum have distinctly long terminal tips when compared with those of P. latiusculum. Read more at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Pteridium aquilinum var. pseudocaudatum
FAMILY
Dennstaedtiaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America
Pteridium aquilinum var. pseudocaudatum
SYNONYMOUS WITH The Ferns and Lycophytes of Texas (Diggs & Lipscomb, 2014)
Pteridium aquilinum ssp. pseudocaudatum
SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 010-05-001:
Pteridium aquilinum var. pseudocaudatum FAMILY Pteridaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Ferns of the Southeastern States (Small, 1938)
Pteris latiuscula var. pseudocaudata
COMMON NAME:
Southern Bracken
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
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USDA / Selected Weeds of the US. 1970 swus_page_009
Image of Pteridium aquilinum "in the broad sense", including var. latiusculum & var. pseudocaudatum.
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JK Marlow jkm240412_8521
April Greenville County SC
Terminal (caudate) tip of basalmost pinnule of basal pinna avg 25% (16-45%) of entire pinnule, per Weakley's Flora (2023).
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JK Marlow jkm220517_7956
May Greenville County SC
Chestnut Ridge Heritage Preserve
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Emily B. Sessa ebspaquilinum_1752
July
Sori covered or partially covered by the reflexed edges of the pinnules, per Peterson Field Guide to Ferns of Northeastern and Central North America.
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Emily B. Sessa ebspaquilinum_1754
July
Sori form infrequently in narrow lines near margins of pinnules, per Peterson Field Guide to Ferns of Northeastern and Central North America.
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Pteridium pseudocaudatum
FAMILY
Dennstaedtiaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Pteridium aquilinum var. pseudocaudatum
FAMILY
Dennstaedtiaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Flora of North America
Pteridium aquilinum var. pseudocaudatum
SYNONYMOUS WITH
The Ferns and Lycophytes of Texas (Diggs & Lipscomb, 2014)
Pteridium aquilinum ssp. pseudocaudatum
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 010-05-001:
Pteridium aquilinum var. pseudocaudatum
FAMILY
Pteridaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Ferns of the Southeastern States (Small, 1938)
Pteris latiuscula var. pseudocaudata
4375
Fern/Fern ally
Perennial
Habitat: Mainly in dry sandy or rocky woodlands, often locally abundant in longleaf pine sandhills and pine flatwoods, per Weakley's Flora
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Common in Coastal Plain (uncommon 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-pinnatifid to 3-pinnate
Leaves widely spaced along a creeping subterranean rhizome
FRUIT:
Summer/Fall
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- The Ferns and Lycophytes of Texas (Diggs & Lipscomb, 2014) p132
- Ferns of Alabama (Short & Spaulding, 2012) p187
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 2nd ed. (McMillan, Porcher, Rayner, & White; 2022) p354
If a search such as "Carex leptalea var. leptalea" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "Carex leptalea".
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