Fern I.D. Assistance

Hi,

My son found these two ferns today behind my house. I've never seen one like this first one here before. We have plenty of Christmas Ferns, Intermediate Ferns, Northern Maidenhair Ferns.

This fern almost looks like a Bonsai tree...thick reddish stalk and light foliage far above.

Any ideas?

Thanks,

Ray

Also this one. I have seen something similiar, but it is new to me here.

Thanks in advance,

Ray

First one is a species of Botrychium (moonwort); try using the key here to find out which:
http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=104332

Second one is a species of Phegopteris (beech fern); key (at least there's only two of these!):
http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=124933

Note that the moonwort at least won't survive being potted, they are impossible to cultivate (and should not be disturbed in the wild, either, they are very sensitive to habitat disturbance)

Resin

It looks like the ubiquotous old Bracken Fern to me. Where you find it it will only send up a single leaf, and then continue traveling underground, and then send up another leaf a distance away. Frank

This message was edited May 10, 2007 3:26 PM

Nope, not Bracken, that doesn't have the distinctive spore-bearing structure at the top of the stem.

Resin

Resin, our Bracken fern, here in the part of the world I live in, doen't have that organ. It gets to 3 or 4 feet tall, and when fall comes, and the nights turn cold, it turns a light cinnomon brown. Perfect camoflage for the deer during deer hunting season.
There seems to be a lot of confusion from continent to continent, regardless of plant group, about names. The picture really doesn't give much information, and I don't see anything at the top of the one in the picture.
Frank

Hi Frank,

What about oak fern? http://www.ct-botanical-society.org/ferns/gymnocarpiumdryo.html

Resin, thank you for going the distance on this for me. I went back and enlarged, and saw what I missed the first time. This conversation has me looking at the Bracken in my area. Yum. This is one fiddlehead worthy of gathering. In the picture of the mystery fern, I took the white line to be non fern, and didn't look any further. Thanks for posting the great picture. Frank

Thanks to all for the great information.

There's an incredible amount of information on those websites and I followed links ot other links for hours!

I went back in the woods to try to find another Moorwort / Rattlesnake fern (for pictures only) and cannot find a single one...searched the whole hillside and found another different/new fern variety (pictures coming soon!) but none of them.

Are they that solitary?

Thanks again,

Ray

#1--definitely is Botrychium virginianum. The other species in the area grow later in the year. Botrychium virginianum is pretty common in some places. In others, you'll just find them widely scattered.

#2--definitely Phegopteris hexagonoptera.

Cultivation of Botrychium, by the way, is possible. I have Botrychium dissectum doing well in a pot in my apartment. Some species are obligately mycoheterotrophic (they rely heavily--or, rarely, exclusively!--on fungi for energy, rather than only photosynthesis), though, and these I would expect not to do well.

Patrick Alexander