Family: Dryopteridaceae
crested shield fern, crested wood fern
[Aspidium cristatum (L.) Sw., more...]
Christopher Noll
Christopher Noll
University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, Robert W. Freckmann Herbarium (UWSP)
Etymology: Dryopteris: from 2 Greek words drys, "oak," and pteris, "fern," possibly referring to the plant's habitat
Plants: perennial fern
Habitat: wet woods
Plants: perennial fern
Habitat: wet woods
In wet woods and thickets, sedge meadows, bogs, swamps, usually on acidic peaty or mucky soils. This is a distinctive species. The leaves are strongly dimorphic. The fertile leaves are taller, stiffly erect with pinnae twisted into a horizontal plane, dying overwinter, surrounded by short evergreen sterile leaves. Dryopteris x boottii (Tuck.) Underwood, is a common sterile triploid hybrid with D. intermedia, resembling D. cristata, but usually taller with glands on the indusia and costae. It often grows on the top of sphagnum hummocks in bogs or peaty shrub thickets. A rare hybrid with D. carthusiana is D. x uliginosa (A.Braun) Druce. It is similar to D. boottii but lacks glands. A rare hybrid with D. marginalis is D. x slossoniae Wherry ex Lellinger.
Floristic Rating: Coefficient of Conservatism = 10, Wetland Indicator = FACW+ WIS DNR-Bureau of Endangered Resources: Detailed information on Wisconsin listed species including state and federal status, photos, etc. USDA Plants Database: Federal Distribution and detailed information including photos University of Wisconsin - Green Bay: Fern & Fern Allies: Photos, descriptions, information
Christopher Noll
Christopher Noll
Christopher Noll
Christopher Noll
Emmet J. Judziewicz
Emmet J. Judziewicz
Christopher Noll
from USDA Plants Website
