Note: Click on images to see enlarged photos, captions, and photo attributions.
On a mobile phone, click on the information symbol (circle with a letter ℹ︎ symbol).
Tried and True Native Plant Selections for the Mid-Atlantic
This native fern of open woods and dry slopes is found throughout most of the Mid-Atlantic Region. In Virginia, it is abundant in higher elevations to infrequent in the Coastal Plain. It can spread quickly to create a ground cover in shady woodland gardens. Crush some leaflets and its common name becomes apparent from the hay-like scent that emanates.
Did you know that this fern often spreads along straight lines, following the growth of its rhizomes to form clonal colonies?
Learn more about Dennstaedtia punctilobula and about rhizome…