Also known as Diplazium pycnocarpon or Athyrium pycnocarpon.
Long, narrow fronds carry rows of slender, pointed leaflets, giving this woodland fern a graceful, open outline.
Glade Fern. Select the photo to open the gallery.
Plant group Fern
Life cycle Perennial
Reproduction Spores
Habitat Rich, moist deciduous woods
Explore reported observations. Sightings are not a complete range map.
Look in rich shaded woods with moist soil. Whole-frond shape and the underside of mature fertile leaflets are useful identification views.
Christmas Fern has a conspicuous basal lobe on each leaflet. Glade Fern has slender leaflets and elongated sori rather than the rounded sori confined to the fertile tip of Christmas Fern.
Each blade is divided once into separate leaflets, rather than repeatedly divided into a lacy blade.
Sori are groups of spore-producing structures. On Glade Fern they form elongated lines along the leaflet veins.
The photographs show fronds among leaf litter and fallen logs. Use habitat as supporting context alongside leaflet and spore characters.
9 selected field photographs. Select any image to enlarge it and browse the slideshow. Use Load more photos to reveal the remaining images.
A fern of rich deciduous forests in eastern North America, including parts of the Midwest.
Field photographs: Where’s Wildlife.
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