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Polypodium appalachianum - (image 1 of 4)

Taxonomy

Family: Polypodiaceae

Habitat

Epipetric, sometimes at the base of trees or on rocky slopes.

Associates

Distribution

Newfoundland, Newfoundland, Novae Scotia, Ontatio and Quebec south to VA, western NC, northeast NC, northern GA, TN, and eastern OH.

Morphology

Evergreen fern from a creeping rootstock; stem scales golden brown, nearly concolored; leaves pinnatifid, to 40 cm, elongate-deltate, widest at or near the base, rarely oblong; segments linear to oblong, less than 8 mm wide, margins entire to crenulate, acute to narrowly rounded at the apex; spores averaging less than 52 µm.

Notes

Spores from mid October to late November

Wetland indicator: Upland

This species is diploid while P. virginianum is tetraploid. Sterile triploid hybrids of this species and P. virginianum are called P. xincognitum and can be recognized by the presence of misshapen spores.

References

Hauflet, C.H, Windham, M.D., Land, F.A., and Whitmore, S.A. 1993. Polypodium. In: Flora of North America North of
Mexico, Vol. 2. Oxford University Press, New York and Oxford.

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