Pteridium aquilinum (L.) Kuhn

Locations ofPteridium aquilinum (L.) Kuhn in Virginia

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Detail

Family
Dennstaedtiaceae
Botanical Name
Pteridium aquilinum (L.) Kuhn
Common Name
Bracken Fern
Synonym(s)
Flora of Virginia Name/Status
Pteridium aquilinum (L.) Kuhn ssp. latiusculum (Desv.) Underwood ex Heller + P. aquilinum (L.) Kuhn ssp. pseudocaudatum (Clute) Heller
Comments
The map is a composite that includes records of both ssp. latiusculum and ssp. pseudocaudatum, which were subsumed in Edition III. Most records from the mountains and Piedmont (especially inner and northern) are probably ssp. latiusculum. See map of ssp. pseudocaudatum for verified records of that ssp., which ranges broadly across the southern and central Coastal Plain and Piedmont. The two taxa have overlapping ranges in Virginia, and some specimens with intermediate characters can be difficult to assign.
Habitat
As a whole, the species is fairly common throughout in dry forests, woodlands, clearings, roadsides, moist to wet flatwoods, and other saturated wetlands; it is strongly associated with acidic, nutrient-poor soils and is responsive to fire.
Native Status
Native

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