Throwback Thelpyteris Thursday: Southern Shield Fern

Southern shield fern and widespread maiden fern are the names favored by Dr. Richard Wunderlin, the University of South Florida botanist responsible for the Florida Plant Atlas, for the fern pictured above, Thelpteris kunthii. Other common names abound, including Kunth's maiden…

Throwback Thelypteris Thursday: Hottentot or Willdenow’s Fern

Pictured above is hottentot fern (Thelypteris interrupta), a native fern that grows along the mesic (moist) hammock loop trail at the Oslo Riverfront Conservation Area (ORCA). Its fronds are usually 3 - 4' long and grow from an underground rhizome…

Throwback Thursday: Ferns of ORCA

Florida has been called the "land of flowers". Even more properly could it be called the "land of ferns". John Kunkel Small, 1931, Ferns of Florida In 2000 not long after the Herb Kale Nature Trail at the Oslo Riverfront Conservation…

February Ferns: Giant Leather Fern

Giant leather fern (Acrostichum danaeifolioum) lives up to its common name. This fern is pictured above at one of the reflection ponds at Bok Tower. Known as the largest fern in north America, its fronds can reach up to 12',…