I know next to nothing about ferns but would love to know more, especially the name of this one that I found growing on a log. It's now become a lovely part of a shady spot under a tree. Thanks!
Please help identify my fern growing on a log.
That looks like a fern that was made for a man!! LOL
pepper23, ?
most ferns you see are very delicate looking. Very femine. This one isn't. So I call it a fern made for a man. I have a warped sense of humor, can't ya tell? LOL. It's still a nice fern and I wouldn't mind having it myself.
And no I don't know the name of it. Someone will come along who does. I just admire them.
pepper23, you are interesting. lol
bivbiv,
I think it is Woodwardia areolata, because it appears glossy: http://www.ct-botanical-society.org/ferns/woodwardiaareo.html
But also looks like Onoclea sensibilis (has a matt finish): http://hardyfernlibrary.com/ferns/listSpecies.cfm?Auto=95 (look in the yellow box for links to better photos)
There is a big difference in the way their fertile fronds look and that will help confirm which fern it is
Onoclea sensibilis will go summer dormant it it drys out. Both are lovely ferns.
I just learned about Woodwardia areolata last year myself when someone else on DG helped me ID it. I have been into ferns for a couple of years now, I feel like I am starting to learn.
Shady
Shady, I think you may be right about its being the Woodwardia areolata. I need to check some of the details in the description to see if it's the same. Another question (which really shows my ignorance of ferns): Do all ferns open from a fiddlehead formation?
Yep, Pepper, I'd say it's a manly fern. This one lives near my gigantic Macho sword fern (which I named Bruiser) and, although smaller, doesn't seem the least bit intimidated. :)
This message was edited Jun 6, 2006 10:04 AM
This message was edited Jun 6, 2006 10:05 AM
bivbiv,
Do all ferns open from a fiddlehead formation? I do believe so, I can't think of any, that I know about, that don't.
S
Macho sword fern. That's cute!! When I first read that, I pictured a little boy with a sword tearing up ferns. Don't know why, it just popped into my head.
Macho isn't my description; it's actually the name of the cultivar. When I named it Bruiser, I didn't realize it was a Macho fern; so I was glad to learn I'd given it an appropriate nickname. I don't name all my plants, but Bruiser just has such...presence.
Shady, I've decided it's not Woodwardia
areolata after all. The underside of the stipe is very smooth, not at all scaly.
bivbiv
Have you checked out Onoclea sensibilis? Wait till later this summer when they send out their fertile fronds. That should confirm it.
Shady
Thanks, Shady. I'll keep an eye on it.
Hi bivbiv,
I don't know what your pretty fern is, but it's not sensitive fern (Onoclea sensibilis). I grow sensitive fern, but haven't uploaded any pictures. Go here:
http://davesgarden.com/pf/showimage/112314/
You can look at the various pictures and see quite a difference from your own fern. Sensitive fern makes quite a stalk before any pinnae appear on the rachis, and overall it is sort of arrow-shaped, not lance-shaped.
Good luck identifying it. If you post it over on the Identification Forum, someone will usually ID it in a day, if not within minutes.
Toxi
Thanks, Toxi.
Bivbiv,
It looks very much like Polypodium vulgare, which grows in abundance on wood logs and even in the moss coats of living deciduous trees in the European forests.
Bonitin, thank you very much! That seems to be a real possibility; the log this is growing on is covered in moss, btw. Since the picture was taken, it's sprouted more fronds. Plant Files don't show it growing in my zone 9b, and the fronds on mine look broader and are a brighter green than those in the Plant File photos. However, the zone could just be an oversight, and the photos may look a bit different just because of the distance from which they were taken and the light. So far, this seems the likliest one.
Looks like Phlebodium aureum; in most of the US, people know this only as an indoor fern but it is native in most of Florida. The only other possibility, really, is Woodwardia areolata, though this species occurs only on the northern part of zone 9b in Florida. Certain distinction between the two would require a view of fertile leaves (which are very different from sterile leaves in Woodwardia but not Phlebodium) or the rhizome (thin & subterranean in Woodwardia, thick & creeping along the surface in Phlebodium).
Patrick Alexander