Woodsia obtusa (Spreng.) Torr.
Blunt-lobed cliff fern
Blunt-lobed cliff fern is a North American native. They tolerate temperatures as low as –35°C.
Identification: Leaf stalks are scaly, with hairs. Fronds are lacy, 2′ ⨉ 3″ (60 ⨉ 8 cm), bipinnate. The sterile fronds are evergreen, while the fertile fronds are not. Fronds are light green to gray-green. Sori, the structures that contain the fern’s spores, are located on leaf undersides. They form a regular array of dots that are circular or kidney-shaped.
Habitats: Calcium-bearing or neutral soils, on rocks and cliff faces.
Online References:
5/22/2010 · Garden in the Woods, Framingham, Massachusetts · ≈ 17 × 12″ (44 × 29 cm) 
| Kingdom | Plantae | Plants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae (from Stearn's Botanical Latin) |
| Subkingdom | Tracheobionta | Vascular plants—plants with a “circulatory system” for delivering water and nutrients |
| Division | Pteridophyta | Ferns |
| Class | Filicopsida | “Leptosporangiate” (has to do with how their spores form) ferns—includes most ferns |
| Order | Polypodiales | Polypod ferns |
| Family | Dryopteridaceae | Wood ferns (about 70% of the ferns) |
| Genus | Woodsia | For Joseph Woods (1776-1864), English architect and botanical author |
| Species | obtusa | “Blunt,” for the blunt lobes and pinnules |
Woodsia obtusa description by Thomas H. Kent, not updated.
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