Flora of North America species comparison

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Dryopteris ludoviciana

Dryopteris celsa

southern wood fern

log fern
Leaves

somewhat dimorphic, green through winter, 35–120 × 10–30 cm.

monomorphic, dying back in winter, 65–120 × 15–30 cm.
Petiole

more than 1/4 length of leaf, scaly at base;

scales scattered, brown.

1/3 length of leaf, scaly at least at base;

scales scattered, dark brown or tan with dark central stripe.
Blade

dark green, lanceolate, pinnate-pinnatifid, herbaceous, not glandular.

green, ovate-lanceolate, gradually tapering to tip, pinnate-pinnatifid, herbaceous, not glandular.
Pinnae

nearly in plane of blade, lance-oblong;

fertile pinnae in distal 1/2 of leaf, distinctly narrower than proximal vegetative pinnae (only in this species);

basal pinnae lanceolate-oblong, much reduced, basal pinnules slightly shorter than adjacent pinnules, basal basiscopic pinnule slightly longer than basal acroscopic pinnule;

pinnule margins distantly serrate.

± in plane of blade, lanceolate-ovate;

basal pinnae linear-oblong, much reduced, basal pinnules longer than adjacent pinnules, basal basiscopic pinnule and basal acroscopic pinnule equal;

pinnule margins crenately toothed.
Indusia

lacking glands.

lacking glands.
Sori

midway between midvein and margin of segments.

midway between midvein and margin of segments.
2n

= 82.

= 164.

Dryopteris ludoviciana

Dryopteris celsa
Habitat Swamps and wet woods Seepage slopes, hammocks and logs in swamps, mostly on the Piedmont and Coastal Plain
Elevation 0–100 m (0–300 ft) 50–800 m (200–2600 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
AL; AR; FL; GA; LA; NC; SC
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AL; AR; DE; GA; IL; KY; LA; MD; MI; MO; NC; NJ; NY; PA; SC; TN; VA; WV
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Dryopteris ludoviciana is endemic to southeastern United States. This diploid is one of the parents of D. celsa and D. cristata. It crosses with D. celsa to produce sterile hybrids.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Dryopteris celsa is a fertile allotetraploid derived from hybridization between D. goldieana and D. ludoviciana. Dryopteris celsa hybridizes with six species; hybrids can usually be identified by the dark-striped scales.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 2. FNA vol. 2.
Parent taxa Dryopteridaceae > Dryopteris Dryopteridaceae > Dryopteris
Sibling taxa
D. arguta, D. campyloptera, D. carthusiana, D. celsa, D. cinnamomea, D. clintoniana, D. cristata, D. expansa, D. filix-mas, D. fragrans, D. goldieana, D. intermedia, D. marginalis
D. arguta, D. campyloptera, D. carthusiana, D. cinnamomea, D. clintoniana, D. cristata, D. expansa, D. filix-mas, D. fragrans, D. goldieana, D. intermedia, D. ludoviciana, D. marginalis
Synonyms Aspidium ludovicianum, D. floridana D. goldiana subsp. celsa
Name authority (Kunze) Small: Ferns S. E. States 281. (1938) (W. Palmer) Knowlton: W. Palmer, & Pollard, Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash. 13: 202. (1900)
Web links 
Unless otherwise noted, all data comes from the online version of the Flora of North America, who have made most of their content available via a Creative Commons license (CC BY 4.0).



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