Ferns: Need help with fern-like plant

Discussion in 'Plants with Spores (Ferns, Mosses, et al.)' started by StephenJK, Aug 11, 2019.

  1. StephenJK

    StephenJK Active Member

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    Can someone tell me what this is. First thought it was a fern, but the leaves are only once pinnate. Found in wooded area near Chehalis, WA on DNR managed forestland.
     

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  2. Sundrop

    Sundrop Well-Known Member

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    I am pretty sure it is a Fern. Leaf structure can vary in the family: Fern Structure
     
    Last edited: Aug 11, 2019
  3. Sundrop

    Sundrop Well-Known Member

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  4. Sulev

    Sulev Contributor

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    Maybe a member of the Polystichum genus, a Sword Fern (Polystichum munitum) for instance?
    Like this:
    Polystichum munitum
     
    Last edited: Aug 11, 2019
  5. Ron B

    Ron B Paragon of Plants 10 Years

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    Yes: young sword fern
     
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  6. Margot

    Margot Renowned Contributor 10 Years

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    I don't think it is either male fern (Dryopteris filix-mas) or lady fern (Athyrium filix-femina) but looks to me more like Polystichum braunii than Polystichum munitum.
     

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  7. Sulev

    Sulev Contributor

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    Really? Polystichum braunii should be essentially bipinnate, unlike the leaf on the initial photo, where the leaf is only (single) pinnate. Are we talking about the leaf in focus, or those blurry leaves on the bacground?
     
    Last edited: Aug 11, 2019
  8. StephenJK

    StephenJK Active Member

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  9. Margot

    Margot Renowned Contributor 10 Years

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    My photo is of a fern I bought several years ago as Polystichum braunii. Would you say it is bipinnate?

    I assumed all fern fronds in the first photo were of the same plant but maybe not.
     
  10. wcutler

    wcutler Paragon of Plants Forums Moderator VCBF Cherry Scout 10 Years

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    I would call yours bipinnate, as does Missouri Botanial Garden: Polystichum braunii - Plant Finder.

    The ones in the back are bi-pinnate. Stephen made a point of saying the one in question is single pinnate, so what he is showing is the whole frond, not just a closeup of a leaflet, and the photos he thought look similar, of Polystichum lonchitis, are single pinnate.
     
  11. Sulev

    Sulev Contributor

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    Might be a P. lonchitis. Here this species is so rare, that only 4 places are known, where it was ever found. But things may be different in your country and especially in the Lewis County.
    The plant seems young. Ferns may have rather variable leaf forms depending on age and conditions (especially lighting and moisture) .

    Some more closeups of P. munitum:
    Common Sword Fern, Western Sword Fern: Polystichum munitum (Synonyms: Aspidium munitum, Polystichum munitum var. munitum)
     
    Last edited: Aug 12, 2019
  12. Botanykerwin_0529

    Botanykerwin_0529 Member

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    No need do doubt, it's just a juvenile fernlet of Polystichum munitum, but not of P. lonchitis (lowest pinnae quite short, rather deltoid, short leaf stipe).
    For sure youngsters are hard to separate, the other option was close related, very similar P. imbricans.
     
  13. Ron B

    Ron B Paragon of Plants 10 Years

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    Note: when I posted "young sword fern" above I was talking about P. munitum. I have seen many just like the one shown.
     

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