Christmas fern stays green all winter; the fronds were formerly used for Christmas decorations. It is common and easy to identify from the shape of the fronds.
• Family: Dryopteridaceae
• Habitat: rich woods and open woods
• Height: fronds 2-3 feet long
• Location of spores: spores on undersides of leaflets
• Stipe (leaf stalk): stout, shallowly-grooved, with dense light-brown scales. leaflets dark green, shiny
• Growth pattern: asymmetric clump
• Persistence: evergreen