Dig into Plants: Lady Fern

Lady Fern Other Common Names: Common Lady Fern, Subarctic Lady Fern, Ladyfern Scientific Name: Athyrium filix-femina Native to Alabama: Yes
	Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center R. W. Smith Click on image to enlarge it

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Basic Plant Information
	I am a non-woody vascular plant, so I am a fern. I do not keep leaves year-round, so I am deciduous. I die back in winter but regrow in spring for many seasons, so I am perennial. I can grow 1 - 3 feet high and 1 - 2.5 feet wide.
Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center R. W. Smith Click on image to enlarge it

Ecological Benefits

White-tailed deer browse leaves during summer; can provide significant cover for wildlife; value of this fern to wildlife appears to be low overall

Maintenance Notes
Dormant in winter. Fronds can be cut and used in floral arrangements. When watering, hold hose to base of plant for a count of 5 seconds. Water should reach all roots. Avoid sprinkling water on the leaves. Requires moist to wet soil at all times.
Moist to wet soil at all times: water three times per week.

Habitat Requirements

This plant prefers:
Part Sun/ Shade (2-6 hours of sun per day) Shade (less than 2 hours of sun per day)	Prefers moist to wet soil at all times	Well-drained, Sandy, Clay, or Moist Soil

Leaf, Flower & Seed Identification

LEAF DESCRIPTION				Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center Brenda K. Loveless Click on image to enlarge it
Leaf Description Chart (PDF)

Shape: Lanceolate	Margin: Lobate	Arrangement: Whorled	Form: Double Compound


Description:
Fronds (leaves) are light green, appear lacy, finely divided; each frond has 20-30 pairs of leaflets with narrow pointed tips and leaflets are divided either further into deeply cut, lanceolate to oblong sub leaflets; grow in circular clumps


FLOWER DESCRIPTION
Lady Fern is not a flowering plant



SEED DESCRIPTION			Wikimedia Muriel Bendel Click on image to enlarge it

Type: Spore-bearing cones	Description: no fruit or seeds, reproduces by spores; spores are found in sori on the bottom of the sub leaflets	Months in Seed: Spores are released summer-fall

Plant spreads by:
Rhizomes/Tubers/Roots & Shoots and spores Underground rhizomes spread and create new clumps of plants – can spread aggressively

Plant Life Cycle

Plant Life Cycle:

Horsetail plants reproduce by spores rather than seeds.
Spores are contained in cone-like spore cases at the ends of the stems.
The spores are dispersed by the wind.
When the spores land on a damp surface, they grow into small male and female structures.
Finally, when fertilization takes place, the plant will grow to form the visible stems used to identify the horsetail plant.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES FOR TEACHERS

Quick Fact Sheet
(Condensed Species Info)

Plant ID Sign:
Ready as-is PDF

Plant ID Sign:
Editable Word Doc

QR Code
(Links to this Webpage)

INFORMATION SOURCES FOR THIS PLANT

Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center's Plant Database		USDA Plants Database
North Carolina Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox		I llinois Wildflowers
Missouri Botanical Garden		Florida Native Plant Society

Alabama Outdoor Classroom Conservation Education Programs