7 Native Ferns In Virginia (Pictures & Care Tips)
Not everyone has the luxury of spending hours each day tending to their garden. And for those people, ferns are a great addition because they are easy to care for, adaptable, and versatile.
This article is for you if you live in Virginia and are considering adding some ferns but are unsure of your options. I will walk you through seven of the most commonly seen native ferns in Virginia.
Let’s get started.
1. Cinnamon Fern
- Scientific Name: Osmundastrum cinnamomeum
- Common Name: Cinnamon Fern
- Mature Height: 2-6 ft.
- Fertile Fronds: Silvery, Furry Fiddleheads
- Blooming Season: April-May
The Cinnamon Fern is a stunning plant that grows to a mature height of 2 to 6 feet. It can form large clumps and spread through rhizomes. Thick, spore-bearing spikes (or fronds) appear in April and May and turn from green to chocolate brown.
The plant prefers full sun to full shade and can grow in a variety of soil types, including muddy, sandy, clay, and loam, as long as they are acidic.
It is found in a wide range of habitats, including upland forest areas, marshes, wet flatwoods, bogs, wetlands, pocosins, and flood-prone forests. Cinnamon Fern fronds grow in clusters and rise from a shallow, black rootstock.
The fertile fronds first appear as silver, furry fiddleheads, then stiffen and stand upright. Meanwhile, the infertile fronds form a vase-shaped circle around the fertile fronds. Young fiddleheads have a fuzz that birds like to use as nest material.
The Cinnamon Fern also serves as a home for three native caterpillar species, including the very common Osmunda Borer moth (Papaipema speciosissima).
2. Ebony Spleenwort
- Scientific Name: Asplenium platyneuron
- Common Name: Ebony Spleenwort
- Mature Height: 6-18 in
- Foliage: Evergreen
The Ebony Spleenwort (Asplenium platyneuron) is a species of fern that can survive in extremely dry conditions. If you keep it moist, it can take more direct sunlight than most native ferns in Virginia.
It gets its name from the fact that, with age, the stalks of the plant become glossy black. Small, irregular clumps of this evergreen fern grow to a mature height of 6 to 18 inches.
It prefers slightly acidic, well-drained gravelly soil, as well as full or partial shade. It thrives in acidic and alkaline soils, sandy loam, and medium loam conditions, but cannot survive in clay soils or prolonged periods of flooding.
This Virginia native fern’s natural habitats include woods, clearings, old fields, woodlands, and rocky outcrops. The plant’s juice is eaten by insects, while the fronds are eaten by tiny mammals.
3. Southern Lady Fern
- Scientific Name: Athyrium asplenioides
- Common Name: Southern Lady Fern
- Mature Height: 2-3 ft.
- Stems: Greenish-Yellow to Red
- Light Requirements: Part Sun/Shade to Full Shade
The Southern Lady Fern, or Athyrium asplenioides, is one of the slow-growing ferns in Virginia that takes a long time to reach maturity (it grows to a height of only 2 to 3 feet) but spreads a lot via rhizomes. Its stems can be anywhere from greenish yellow to red.
This fern thrives on somewhat acidic, loamy soil with a mixture of light and dark conditions. It lives in forested uplands, floodplains with good drainage, and hummocks in swamp forests. The Southern Lady Fern is an attractive plant with fluffy fronds that stand erect.
As a ground cover, it can be placed on the northeast side of structures, but it needs to be shielded from the wind.
4. Royal Fern
- Scientific Name: Osmunda spectabilis
- Common Name: Royal Fern
- Mature Height: 2-5 ft.
- Light Requirement: Part Sun/Shade, Shade
Royal Fern, or Osmunda spectabilis, is a strange plant with an unusual shape and a distinctive feel to the touch.
This native Virginia fern resembles the pea family in appearance thanks to its fronds being cut twice into large, rounded leaflets. It’s one of the most common species of its kind and has spread to every continent except Australia, where it has become a groundcover.
Royal Fern grows to be 2–5 feet tall and 18 inches wide when it matures. It has a slow growth rate from a rhizome stem and requires acidic, moist soil that is either sandy, clay, or loam.
Growing in large numbers can give animals a place to live in freshwater wetlands, bogs, fens, floodplain forests, and along the banks of streams. There are six native caterpillar species that make Royal Fern their home.
5. Hay Scented Fern
- Scientific Name: Dennstaedtia punctilobula
- Common Name: Hay-Scented Fern
- Mature Height: 1-3 ft
- Light Requirement: Part Sun/Shade to Full Shade
- Soil Needs: Rocky & Acid-Moderate Soils
The Dennstaedtia punctilobula, or hay-scented fern, is a resilient plant that spreads by rhizomes to form mat-like colonies. It does best in places that are partly to fully shaded and have rocky soils that are slightly acidic to slightly alkaline in pH.
Fronds of the Hay-Scented Fern have a distinctively soft, hairy surface, and the fern itself can be quite aggressive in the right conditions.
The name comes from the hay-like aroma of the drying leaves in late summer and autumn, or when the frond is crushed when the plant is in its dormant stage.
When grown in large quantities, the leaves provide excellent cover for wildlife and serve as a food source for three native butterfly caterpillar species.
6. Christmas Fern
- Scientific Name: Polystichum acrostichoides
- Common Name: Christmas Fern
- Mature Height: Fronds 1-3 feet, taller when fertile
- Light Requirement: Part shade to full shade
- Soil: Moist & humus-rich
The Christmas Fern, or Polystichum acrostichoides, gets its name from its evergreen leaves, which stay green all through the holiday season.
This species can grow up to 1–3 feet tall, and if it’s fertile, it can grow even taller. It does best in moist, well-drained, humus-rich, sandy, acidic soils with some shade to full shade. It doesn’t like water that stays still.
This fern grows best in rocky woods, along stream banks, in swamps, and in thickets. The Christmas Fern is a great evergreen border or accent plant that can grow in different places.
7. Ostrich Fern
- Scientific Name: Matteuccia struthiopteris
- Common Name: Ostrich Fern
- Mature Height: 1-6 ft
- Flowers: None
- Reproduction Season: July-October
The Ostrich Fern, or Matteuccia struthiopteris, is a deciduous plant that can reach heights of 1 to 6 feet. Just like most other native ferns in Virginia, Ostrich Fern does not produce any flowers.
From July through October, it reproduces by spores. It grows best in moist, shady places. Because it likes cool, sandy soil, it is often found in rich alluvial forests, swamps, bottomland woodlands, and thickets.
The fern’s fruitful plumes, which resemble beaded strands, will persist despite the cold. If you want to keep the plant from spreading through underground runners, you’ll need to give it a lot of room.
Native Ferns In Virginia – Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
This section focuses on some of the most commonly asked questions about native ferns in Virginia landscapes.
What are some of the native ferns in Virginia?
The most commonly found native ferns in Virginia are Cinnamon Fern, Ebony Spleenwort, Royal fern, Hay-scented fern, Christmas fern, Ostrich fern, and Southern Lady fern.
Is maidenhair fern native to Virginia?
Even though Maidenhair ferns are one of the most commonly found ferns in Virginia, they are not native to the state. These ferns are considered to be naturalized in the Piedmont and Coastal Plain regions of Virginia.
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Sources
The Regional Gardening team makes sure that the information in our articles is accurate by only using sources that are known to be trustworthy. Some of these sources are peer-reviewed journals from government agencies, well-known universities, and scientific research organizations.
- The Virginia Department of Forestry
- The Virginia Cooperative Extension
- Virginia Native Plant Society
- The US Forest Service
- Virginia Natural Heritage Program
- Virginia Tech Dendrology
