Dryopteris marginalis

Marginal Wood Fern

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Family: Dryopteridaceae (Wood Fern family)

Mid-Atlantic bloom time: June - September

Marginal Wood Fern is evergreen, which makes it easier to find and identify in the winter. It grows from a clump and may have dead fronds accumulated under it. Marginal Wood Fern's stipes are about 1/4 the length of the frond and are covered in bright golden scales; the basal pinnules are longer than adjacent pinnules. Its sori are near the margins of its segments.

Key ID features:

• fronds are evergreen and mostly bipinnate
• each stipe is about 1/4 length of overall fern, covered in golden-brown scales when mature
• the sori are circular, along the margins of pinnules

Compare it with the lacy but otherwise somewhat similar Intermediate Wood Fern (Dryopteris intermedia), which has its sori midway between the midvein and margins of the pinnules.

9 November 2021 Manassas National Battlefield Park, Manassas, VA	9 November 2021 Manassas National Battlefield Park, Manassas, VA	9 November 2021 Manassas National Battlefield Park, Manassas, VA	9 November 2021 Manassas National Battlefield Park, Manassas, VA (showing golden-brown stipe scales)
20 January 2023 Bull Run Mountains Natural Area Preserve, Haymarket, VA	9 November 2021 Manassas National Battlefield Park, Manassas, VA (underside showing spore structures)	20 January 2023 Bull Run Mountains Natural Area Preserve, Haymarket, VA	21 November 2015 Scott's Run Nature Preserve, McLean, VA (underside showing spore structures)
9 November 2021 Manassas National Battlefield Park, Manassas, VA (underside showing spore structures)

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