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Dryopteris carthusiana (Vill.) H.P. Fuchs

Spinulose wood fern, spreading wood fern, toothed wood fern, narrow buckler fern

KingdomPlantaePlants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae
SubkingdomTracheobiontaVascular plants—plants with a “circulatory system” for delivering water and nutrients
DivisionPteridophytaFerns
ClassFilicopsida“Leptosporangiate” (has to do with how their spores form) ferns—includes most ferns
OrderPolypodialesPolypod ferns
FamilyDryopteridaceaeWood ferns (about 70% of the ferns)
GenusDryopterisFrom Greek dryas, “oak,” and pteris, “fern,” in reference to the presence of some species of wood ferns in woodland areas populated with oaks
SpeciescarthusianaFor Johann Friedrich Cartheuser, physician, naturalist, anatomist, botanist, pathologist, chemist, pharmacist, and prolific author

About plant names...

Spinulose wood fern is named because its leaves have tiny spinules (spines) on their tips. The genus Dryopteris translates to "fern of the oak wood," and the species carthusiana honors Johann Friedrich Cartheuser, a polymath who died in 1777. Cartheuser was a physician, naturalist, anatomist, botanist, pathologist, chemist, pharmacist, and prolific author.

Identification: These ferns grow in uneven clumps or solitary fronds, and are 1-3′ (30-91 cm) high. They prefer moist habitats. Fronds are 6-30″ long ⨉ 4-12″ wide (15-76 ⨉ 10-30 cm). Each frond consists of primary leaflets (pinnae), composed of secondary leaflets (pinnules), which in turn are sometimes composed of tertiary leaflets, for which I couldn't find a fancy name. This triple hierarchy makes these ferns (along with many others) tripinnate. And just to make sure you're still paying attention, the tertiary leaflets are replete with little serrations called spinules, making spinulose wood ferns practically quadropinnate, a word that I’m pretty sure doesn’t exist. Leaflet bottoms contain the ferns' reproductive structures, or sori, which are small, brown rounded mounds. At close range, the sori look like microminiature shrubs, about 1/16″ (2 mm) in diameter.

Online References:

Earl J.S. Rook's Flora, Fauna, Earth, and Sky ... The Natural History of the Northwoods

The Connecticut Botanical Society's Connecticut wildflowers site

Ontario Ferns

References:

Cobb, Boughton, Farnsworth, Elizabeth & Lowe, Cheryl, Peterson Field Guides: Ferns of Northeastern and Central North America, Houghton Mifflin Company, 2005, p. 132

Dryopteris carthusiana (spinulose wood fern, spreading wood fern, toothed wood fern, narrow buckler fern)

8/23/2009 · Tom and Susan’s, Pepperell, Mass­a­chu­setts · ≈ 9 × 6″ (23 × 15 cm)

Dryopteris carthusiana (spinulose wood fern, spreading wood fern, toothed wood fern, narrow buckler fern)

8/23/2009 · Tom and Susan’s, Pepperell, Mass­a­chu­setts · ≈ 4½ × 3″ (11 × 7.9 cm)

Dryopteris carthusiana (spinulose wood fern, spreading wood fern, toothed wood fern, narrow buckler fern)

8/23/2009 · Tom and Susan’s, Pepperell, Mass­a­chu­setts · ≈ 3 × 4½″ (7.9 × 11 cm)

Dryopteris austriaca (Jacq.) Woynar ex Schinz & Thell. var. spinulosa (O.F. Müll.) Fisch.

Dryopteris spinulosa (O.F. Müll.) Watt

 

Dryopteris carthusiana description by Thomas H. Kent, last updated 7 Sep 2023.

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Dryopteris carthusiana (spinulose wood fern, spreading wood fern, toothed wood fern, narrow buckler fern)

8/23/2009 · Tom and Susan’s, Pepperell, Mass­a­chu­setts · ≈ 5 × 3½″ (13 × 9.2 cm)

Dryopteris carthusiana (spinulose wood fern, spreading wood fern, toothed wood fern, narrow buckler fern)

8/24/2009 · Tom and Susan’s, Pepperell, Mass­a­chu­setts · ≈ 6 × 4″ (15 × 10 cm)

Dryopteris carthusiana (spinulose wood fern, spreading wood fern, toothed wood fern, narrow buckler fern)

8/23/2009 · Tom and Susan’s, Pepperell, Mass­a­chu­setts · ≈ 9 × 6″ (22 × 14 cm)

Dryopteris carthusiana (spinulose wood fern, spreading wood fern, toothed wood fern, narrow buckler fern)

8/24/2009 · Tom and Susan’s, Pepperell, Mass­a­chu­setts · ≈ 5 × 3½″ (13 × 9.2 cm)

Dryopteris carthusiana (spinulose wood fern, spreading wood fern, toothed wood fern, narrow buckler fern)

8/24/2009 · Tom and Susan’s, Pepperell, Mass­a­chu­setts · ≈ 7 × 11″ (18 × 27 cm)

Range:

About this map...