Monilophytes (ferns): Leptosporangiate Ferns (true ferns): Polypodiales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Onoclea sensibilis
FAMILY
Onocleaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
See herbarium specimens at the Atlas of Florida Vascular Plants
Learn more about Sensitive Fern from the Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
INCLUDED WITHIN
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Onoclea sensibilis
FAMILY
Dryopteridaceae
INCLUDED WITHIN Flora of North America
Onoclea sensibilis
SYNONYMOUS WITH The Ferns and Lycophytes of Texas (Diggs & Lipscomb, 2014)
Onoclea sensibilis var. sensibilis
INCLUDED WITHIN VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 011-07-001:
Onoclea sensibilis FAMILY Aspidiaceae
INCLUDED WITHIN Ferns of the Southeastern States (Small, 1938)
Onoclea sensibilis
COMMON NAME:
Sensitive Fern, Bead Fern
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
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USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_onse_001_lvd
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USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / USDA Wetland flora: Field office illustrated guide pnd_onse_004_lvd
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JK Marlow jkm120414_884
April Pickens County SC
Jocassee Gorges
Pinnae of fertile blade erect, 2-7cm long, per Field Guide to the Ferns and Other Pteridophytes of Georgia (Snyder & Bruce, 1986).
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Emily B. Sessa ebsosensibilis_9542
May
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Emily B. Sessa ebsosensibilis_9546
May
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JK Marlow jkm0305o_21
May Haywood County NC
Corneille Bryan Native Garden
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JK Marlow jkm0505k_28
May Haywood County NC
Corneille Bryan Native Garden
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Emily B. Sessa ebsosensibilis_3517
June
Pinnae have undulate to shallowly lobed margins, per Ferns of the Smokies (Evans, 2005).
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JK Marlow jkm0506l_29
June Union County SC
Sumter National Forest: Tyger Ranger District
Pinnae tend to be opposite (those of Woodwardia areolata tend to be alternate), per Weakley's Flora.
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JK Marlow jkm060619_013
June Greenville County SC
COMPARE
fronds of Netted Chain Fern and Sensitive Fern
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Emily B. Sessa ebsosensibilis_1759
July
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JK Marlow jkm070702_116
July Pocahontas County WV
Cranberry Glades Botanical Area
The rachis is winged, joining the opposite pinnae to each other , per Ferns of the Smokies (Evans, 2005).
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Patrick D. McMillan pdmosensibilis_3
July?
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Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_o_sensibilis_se
September
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JK Marlow s070927_i
September Pickens County SC
Jocassee Gorges
Fertile leaves are much reduced, but taller, narrower, and twice-pinnate, per Ferns of the Smokies (Evans, 2005).
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JK Marlow s070927_j
September Pickens County SC
Jocassee Gorges
Fertile leaves' pinna lobes tightly rolled around the sori, "beadlike", per Ferns of the Smokies (Evans, 2005).
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JK Marlow jkm231008_5893
October Greenville County SC
Chestnut Ridge Heritage Preserve
"Sensitive" to cold (not to touch) and withering at the first touch of frost, per Weakley's Flora (2012).
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Onoclea sensibilis
FAMILY
Onocleaceae
INCLUDED WITHIN
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Onoclea sensibilis
FAMILY
Dryopteridaceae
INCLUDED WITHIN
Flora of North America
Onoclea sensibilis
SYNONYMOUS WITH
The Ferns and Lycophytes of Texas (Diggs & Lipscomb, 2014)
Onoclea sensibilis var. sensibilis
INCLUDED WITHIN
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 011-07-001:
Onoclea sensibilis
FAMILY
Aspidiaceae
INCLUDED WITHIN
Ferns of the Southeastern States (Small, 1938)
Onoclea sensibilis
986
Fern/Fern ally
Perennial
Habitat: marshes, swamps, ditches, wet disturbed places, per Weakley's Flora
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Common
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
LEAVES:
Deciduous
Sterile blade pinnatifid/ Fertile blade 2-pinnate
Leaves irregularly spaced along a widely creeping rhizome
FRUIT:
Spring/Summer
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Field Guide to the Ferns and Other Pteridophytes of Georgia (Snyder & Bruce, 1986) p132
- The Ferns and Lycophytes of Texas (Diggs & Lipscomb, 2014) p175
- Ferns of Alabama (Short & Spaulding, 2012) p241
- Ferns of the Smokies (Evans, 2005) p68
- Gardening with Native Plants of the South (Wasowski & Wasowski, 1994, 2020) p122
- Gardening with the Native Plants of Tennessee (Hunter, 2002) p200
- Peterson Field Guide to Ferns of Northeastern and Central North America p168
- Wildflowers & Plant Communities of the Southern Appalachian Mountains and Piedmont (Spira, 2011) p411
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