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Dryopteris intermedia (Muhl. ex Willd.) A. Gray

Evergreen wood fern, intermediate wood fern, intermediate shield fern, fancy wood fern, glandular wood fern, American shield fern, common wood fern

Evergreen wood fern is a perennial native to eastern North America.

Identification: Plants are 1–3′ tall ⨉ 2–3′ around (40–90 ⨉ 60–90 cm). Fronds emerge from the base in a roughly spiral arrangement. Each frond’s stipe has light brown scales near the base and short glandular hairs further up the stalk. Fronds are 1–3′ ⨉ 4–8″ (32–90 ⨉ 10–20 cm) long, three to four times longer than the stipes, with bipinnate lance-oblong leaves. In ferns, the major leaflets are pinnae and the minor ones pinnules. The pinnules, in turn, have lobes and teeth. Both the spore-bearing fronds and the sterile fronds are similar in appearance.

Habitats: Alphine and subalpine zones, forests, woodlands, ravines, swamp margins, and rocky slopes.

Online References:

North Carolina Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox

Wikipedia

Go Botany

Flora of North America

Dryopteris austriaca (Jacq.) Woynar ex Schinz & Thell. var. intermedia (Muhl. ex Willd.) Morton
Dryopteris spinulosa (O.F. Müll.) Watt var. concordiana (Davenport) Eastman
Dryopteris spinulosa (O.F. Müll.) Watt var. intermedia (Muhl. ex Willd.) Underw.

 

Dryopteris intermedia (evergreen wood fern, intermediate wood fern, intermediate shield fern, fancy wood fern, glandular wood fern, American shield fern, common wood fern, intermediate woodfern)

6/13/2021 · Cathance River Nature Preserve, Topsham, Maine · ≈ 7 × 4½″ (17 × 11 cm)

Dryopteris intermedia (evergreen wood fern, intermediate wood fern, intermediate shield fern, fancy wood fern, glandular wood fern, American shield fern, common wood fern, intermediate woodfern)

6/5/2015 · Big Bear Mountain, Brookline, New Hamp­shire

Dryopteris intermedia (evergreen wood fern, intermediate wood fern, intermediate shield fern, fancy wood fern, glandular wood fern, American shield fern, common wood fern, intermediate woodfern)

9/14/2010 · Garden in the Woods, Framingham, Mass­a­chu­setts · ≈ 17 × 12″ (44 × 29 cm)

Dryopteris intermedia (evergreen wood fern, intermediate wood fern, intermediate shield fern, fancy wood fern, glandular wood fern, American shield fern, common wood fern, intermediate woodfern)

11/24/2024 · Elmwood Trail, Pownal, Maine

Dryopteris intermedia (evergreen wood fern, intermediate wood fern, intermediate shield fern, fancy wood fern, glandular wood fern, American shield fern, common wood fern, intermediate woodfern)

10/7/2012 · Beaver Brook Conservation Area, Hollis, New Hamp­shire · ≈ 5 × 3½″ (13 × 9.2 cm)

Dryopteris intermedia (evergreen wood fern, intermediate wood fern, intermediate shield fern, fancy wood fern, glandular wood fern, American shield fern, common wood fern, intermediate woodfern)

8/16/2012 · Mt. Tom State Reservation, Dynamite Trail, Holyoke, Mass­a­chu­setts · ≈ 9 × 6″ (23 × 15 cm)

Dryopteris intermedia (evergreen wood fern, intermediate wood fern, intermediate shield fern, fancy wood fern, glandular wood fern, American shield fern, common wood fern, intermediate woodfern)

11/13/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Pepperell, Mass­a­chu­setts · ≈ 15 × 10″ (39 × 26 cm)

Dryopteris intermedia (evergreen wood fern, intermediate wood fern, intermediate shield fern, fancy wood fern, glandular wood fern, American shield fern, common wood fern, intermediate woodfern)

6/18/2015 · Beaver Brook Conservation Area, Hollis, New Hamp­shire · ≈ 6 × 9″ (15 × 22 cm)

Dryopteris intermedia (evergreen wood fern, intermediate wood fern, intermediate shield fern, fancy wood fern, glandular wood fern, American shield fern, common wood fern, intermediate woodfern)

8/16/2012 · Mt. Tom State Reservation, Dynamite Trail, Holyoke, Mass­a­chu­setts · ≈ 9 × 6″ (22 × 14 cm)

Dryopteris intermedia (evergreen wood fern, intermediate wood fern, intermediate shield fern, fancy wood fern, glandular wood fern, American shield fern, common wood fern, intermediate woodfern)

5/22/2010 · Garden in the Woods, Framingham, Mass­a­chu­setts · ≈ 17 × 12″ (44 × 29 cm)

Dryopteris intermedia (evergreen wood fern, intermediate wood fern, intermediate shield fern, fancy wood fern, glandular wood fern, American shield fern, common wood fern, intermediate woodfern)

6/13/2021 · Cathance River Nature Preserve, Topsham, Maine · ≈ 4½ × 7″ (11 × 16 cm)

Dryopteris intermedia (evergreen wood fern, intermediate wood fern, intermediate shield fern, fancy wood fern, glandular wood fern, American shield fern, common wood fern, intermediate woodfern)

10/7/2012 · Beaver Brook Conservation Area, Hollis, New Hamp­shire · ≈ 9 × 6″ (23 × 15 cm)

Dryopteris intermedia (evergreen wood fern, intermediate wood fern, intermediate shield fern, fancy wood fern, glandular wood fern, American shield fern, common wood fern, intermediate woodfern)

6/18/2015 · Beaver Brook Conservation Area, Hollis, New Hamp­shire · ≈ 12 × 8″ (31 × 21 cm)

Dryopteris intermedia (evergreen wood fern, intermediate wood fern, intermediate shield fern, fancy wood fern, glandular wood fern, American shield fern, common wood fern, intermediate woodfern)

10/7/2012 · Beaver Brook Conservation Area, Hollis, New Hamp­shire · ≈ 7 × 6″ (18 × 15 cm)

Dryopteris intermedia (evergreen wood fern, intermediate wood fern, intermediate shield fern, fancy wood fern, glandular wood fern, American shield fern, common wood fern, intermediate woodfern)

9/24/2013 · Squannacook River Wildlife Area, Townsend, Mass­a­chu­setts · ≈ 12 × 8″ (31 × 21 cm)

Dryopteris intermedia (evergreen wood fern, intermediate wood fern, intermediate shield fern, fancy wood fern, glandular wood fern, American shield fern, common wood fern, intermediate woodfern)

8/16/2012 · Mt. Tom State Reservation, Dynamite Trail, Holyoke, Mass­a­chu­setts · ≈ 8 × 5″ (19 × 13 cm)

Dryopteris intermedia (evergreen wood fern, intermediate wood fern, intermediate shield fern, fancy wood fern, glandular wood fern, American shield fern, common wood fern, intermediate woodfern)

9/14/2010 · Garden in the Woods, Framingham, Mass­a­chu­setts · ≈ 15 × 10″ (39 × 26 cm)

Dryopteris intermedia (evergreen wood fern, intermediate wood fern, intermediate shield fern, fancy wood fern, glandular wood fern, American shield fern, common wood fern, intermediate woodfern)

7/13/2015 · Mt. Ascutney State Park, Ascutney, Ver­mont · ≈ 11 × 7″ (28 × 18 cm) ID is uncertain

Dryopteris intermedia (evergreen wood fern, intermediate wood fern, intermediate shield fern, fancy wood fern, glandular wood fern, American shield fern, common wood fern, intermediate woodfern)

11/24/2024 · Elmwood Trail, Pownal, Maine

Dryopteris intermedia (evergreen wood fern, intermediate wood fern, intermediate shield fern, fancy wood fern, glandular wood fern, American shield fern, common wood fern, intermediate woodfern)

7/13/2015 · Mt. Ascutney State Park, Ascutney, Ver­mont · ≈ 7 × 10″ (16 × 25 cm) ID is uncertain

Dryopteris intermedia (evergreen wood fern, intermediate wood fern, intermediate shield fern, fancy wood fern, glandular wood fern, American shield fern, common wood fern, intermediate woodfern)

10/16/2013 · Blue Trail, Willard Brook State Park, Ashby, Mass­a­chu­setts · ≈ 7 × 6″ (18 × 16 cm)

Dryopteris intermedia (evergreen wood fern, intermediate wood fern, intermediate shield fern, fancy wood fern, glandular wood fern, American shield fern, common wood fern, intermediate woodfern)

6/12/2025 · Carl and Barbara Segerstrom Preserve at Squam Creek, Westport Island, Maine · ≈ 10 × 14″ (24 × 36 cm)

KingdomPlantaePlants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae (from Stearn's Botanical Latin)
SubkingdomTracheobiontaVascular plants—plants with a “circulatory system” for delivering water and nutrients
DivisionPteridophytaFerns
ClassFilicopsida“Leptosporangiate” (has to do with how their spores form) ferns—includes most ferns
OrderPolypodialesPolypod ferns
FamilyDryopteridaceaeWood ferns (about 70% of the ferns)
GenusDryopterisFrom Greek dryas, “oak,” and pteris, “fern,” in reference to the presence of some species of wood ferns in woodland areas populated with oaks
SpeciesintermediaIntermediate, probably a reference to this fern being between D. carthusiana and D. campyloptera

About plant names...

Range: Zones 5-8:

About this map...

Dryopteris intermedia description by Thomas H. Kent, not updated.

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