Burke: Dryopteris cristata

	Dryopteris cristata
	crested wood fern, shield fern
Habit	Perennial with stems creeping to erect, lacking stolons.
Leaves	Leaves dimorphic, 35-70 cm long and 8-12 cm broad; fertile leaves dying back each winter; sterile leaves several and small, forming rosette, evergreen; petiole 1/4-1/3 length of leaf; scales found at least at base, scattered, tan; blade green, narrow-lanceolate or with parallel sides, pinnate-pinnafitid, eglandular; pinnae of fertile leaves turned to nearly right angles to blade plane, deltate, basal pinnae deltate and slightly reduced, basal pinnules longer than others, basal basiscopic pinnule equal to basal acroscopic pinnule, pinnule margins distantly serrate with spiny teeth.
Spores	Sori halfway between midvein and segment margins; indusia glands absent, round-reniform, attached at narrow sinus; spores brownish.

	Dryopteris cristata
Habitat	Moist woods and thickets at middle elevations in the mountains.
Distribution	Occurring east of the Cascades crest in northeastern Washington; Alaska to Idaho, east across northern U.S. and Canada to eastern North America; also in Europe. [WildflowerSearch map] [BONAP county map]
Origin	Native
Conservation status	Sensitive in Washington (WANHP)
Sibling taxa	D. arguta, D. carthusiana, D. expansa, D. filix-mas
Web links	Local floras: BC, WA Local Web sites: Flora NW, PNW Herbaria WildflowerSearch iNaturalist (observations) USDA Plants Database LBJ Wildflower Center SEINet Plants of the World Online Encyclopedia of Life Wikipedia Google Image Search

Dryopteris cristata

crested wood fern, shield fern

Habit

Perennial with stems creeping to erect, lacking stolons.

Leaves

Leaves dimorphic, 35-70 cm long and 8-12 cm broad;

fertile leaves dying back each winter;

sterile leaves several and small, forming rosette, evergreen;

petiole 1/4-1/3 length of leaf;

scales found at least at base, scattered, tan;

blade green, narrow-lanceolate or with parallel sides, pinnate-pinnafitid, eglandular;

pinnae of fertile leaves turned to nearly right angles to blade plane, deltate, basal pinnae deltate and slightly reduced, basal pinnules longer than others, basal basiscopic pinnule equal to basal acroscopic pinnule, pinnule margins distantly serrate with spiny teeth.

Spores

Sori halfway between midvein and segment margins;

indusia glands absent, round-reniform, attached at narrow sinus; spores brownish.

Dryopteris cristata

Habitat

Moist woods and thickets at middle elevations in the mountains.

Distribution

Occurring east of the Cascades crest in northeastern Washington; Alaska to Idaho, east across northern U.S. and Canada to eastern North America; also in Europe.

[WildflowerSearch map]

[BONAP county map]

Origin

Native

Conservation status

Sensitive in Washington (WANHP)

Sibling taxa

D. arguta, D. carthusiana, D. expansa, D. filix-mas

Web links