Monilophytes (ferns): Leptosporangiate Ferns (true ferns): Osmundales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Osmunda spectabilis
FAMILY
Osmundaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
See herbarium specimens at the Atlas of Florida Vascular Plants
Read about Osmundastrum and Osmunda from Alan Weakley and the Southern Appalachian Botanical Society.
Learn more about Osmunda from the Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Osmunda regalis var. spectabilis
FAMILY
Osmundaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Osmunda spectabilis
SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America
Osmunda regalis var. spectabilis
SYNONYMOUS WITH The Ferns and Lycophytes of Texas (Diggs & Lipscomb, 2014)
Osmunda regalis var. spectabilis
SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 007-01-003:
Osmunda regalis var. spectabilis FAMILY Osmundaceae
INCLUDED WITHIN Ferns of the Southeastern States (Small, 1938)
Osmunda regalis
COMMON NAME:
American Royal Fern
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
JK Marlow jkm080329_001
March Pickens County SC
Keowee Toxaway State Natural Area
Fiddleheads are smooth, wine-colored, and fairly stout, per Peterson Field Guide to Ferns of Northeastern and Central North America.
)
Alan S. Weakley asw_547490404136062
April Orange County NC
North Carolina Botanical Garden
)
Alan S. Weakley asw_891762611991512
April Orange County NC
North Carolina Botanical Garden
)
JK Marlow jkm080421_013
April Haywood County NC
Corneille Bryan Native Garden
Habitat includes wet woods and rocky streams. Soil usually acidic, per Field Guide to the Ferns and Other Pteridophytes of Georgia (Snyder & Bruce, 1986).
)
JK Marlow jkm160416_243
April Lowndes County GA
Sporangia naked, bright green when ripe, becoming rusty then dark brown, per Peterson Field Guide to Ferns of Northeastern and Central North America.
)
Emily B. Sessa ebsoregalis_9389
May
Pinnules narrow, oblong, mostly alternate, on small distinct stalks, per Peterson Field Guide to Ferns of Northeastern and Central North America.
)
Emily B. Sessa ebsoregalis_9392
May
)
JK Marlow jkm0305t_13
May Haywood County NC
Corneille Bryan Native Garden
)
JK Marlow jkm090516_117
May Charleston County SC
Francis Marion National Forest
)
JK Marlow jkm090516_119
May Charleston County SC
Francis Marion National Forest
Fertile blade similar to sterile but with sporangia-bearing pinnules at tip, per Peterson Field Guide to Ferns of Northeastern and Central North America.
)
JK Marlow jkm090516_119c
May Charleston County SC
Francis Marion National Forest
)
JK Marlow jkm090516_122
May Charleston County SC
Francis Marion National Forest
Fronds more nearly resemble the leaves of a locust tree than a fern, per Field Guide to the Ferns and Other Pteridophytes of Georgia (Snyder & Bruce, 1986).
)
JK Marlow jkm100515_036
May Henderson County NC
Pisgah National Forest: Pisgah Ranger District
)
JK Marlow jkm100515_036b
May Henderson County NC
Pisgah National Forest: Pisgah Ranger District
Sporangia in naked short-stalked clusters, green at first, later brown, per Field Guide to the Ferns and Other Pteridophytes of Georgia (Snyder & Bruce, 1986).
)
JK Marlow jkm100515_041
May Henderson County NC
Pisgah National Forest: Pisgah Ranger District
Cinnamon Fern on the left, Royal Fern on the right.
)
JK Marlow jkm100515_042
May Henderson County NC
Pisgah National Forest: Pisgah Ranger District
)
JK Marlow jkm210507_0042
May Greenville County SC
Blackwell Heritage Preserve
)
Emily B. Sessa ebsoregalis_0600
June
)
JK Marlow jkm100606_142
June Greenville County
Chandler Heritage Preserve
)
JK Marlow jkm100606_145
June Greenville County
Chandler Heritage Preserve
)
JK Marlow jkm170624_253
June Oconee County SC
Sumter National Forest: Andrew Pickens Ranger District
)
JK Marlow jkm0511c_11
November Haywood County NC
Corneille Bryan Native Garden
)
JK Marlow jkm0511c_11b
November Haywood County NC
Corneille Bryan Native Garden
)
JK Marlow jkm0511c_15
November Haywood County NC
Corneille Bryan Native Garden
)
Patrick D. McMillan pdmo_regalis
Month Unknown
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Osmunda spectabilis
FAMILY
Osmundaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Osmunda regalis var. spectabilis
FAMILY
Osmundaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Osmunda spectabilis
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Flora of North America
Osmunda regalis var. spectabilis
SYNONYMOUS WITH
The Ferns and Lycophytes of Texas (Diggs & Lipscomb, 2014)
Osmunda regalis var. spectabilis
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 007-01-003:
Osmunda regalis var. spectabilis
FAMILY
Osmundaceae
INCLUDED WITHIN
Ferns of the Southeastern States (Small, 1938)
Osmunda regalis
998
Fern/Fern ally
Perennial
Habitat: bogs, marshes (including tidal), moist forests, floodplains, swamp forests, and other wetlands, 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
2-pinnate
Leaves erect in a dense crown
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) p038
- The Ferns and Lycophytes of Texas (Diggs & Lipscomb, 2014) p195
- Ferns of Alabama (Short & Spaulding, 2012) p139
- Ferns of the Smokies (Evans, 2005) p45
- Gardening with Native Plants of the South (Wasowski & Wasowski, 1994, 2020) p123
- Gardening with the Native Plants of Tennessee (Hunter, 2002) p201
- Peterson Field Guide to Ferns of Northeastern and Central North America p176
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