Flora of North America species comparison

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Tectaria heracleifolia

broad halberd fern
Stems

erect, compact.
Petiole

straw-colored or rarely brown, 1–2 times length of blade, glabrous on both surfaces, base scaly;

scales linear to lanceolate, 3–10 × 0.5–2 mm.
Blade

ovate to pentagonal, 1-pinnate or (in small plants) ternately lobed, (12–)20–40(–50) × 14–40(–45) cm.
Pinnae

1–2(–3) pairs, 12–22 cm, base cordate, margins shallowly lobed, with pair of basal lobes and without proliferous buds in axils.
Indusia

peltate.
Rachis

and costae glabrous abaxially.
Areoles

with included veinlets.
2n

= 160.

Tectaria heracleifolia
Habitat Rocky hammocks, limestone outcrops in shade, cave entrances
Elevation 0–100 m (0–300 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
FL; TX; Mexico; Central America; West Indies in Antilles; South America to Peru
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Source FNA vol. 2.
Parent taxa Dryopteridaceae > Tectaria
Sibling taxa
T. coriandrifolia, T. fimbriata, T. incisa
Synonyms Aspidium heracleifolium
Name authority (Willdenow) L. Underwood: Bull. Torrey Bot. Club 33: 200. (1906)
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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(If the plant you're looking for doesn't show up in the auto-complete list, that means it either isn't described in Flora of North America yet, or it's listed under a synonym. And please note that Flora of North America is still missing several plant families, including Fabaceae, Apiaceae, Boraginaceae, and Polemoniaceae.)

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