Polystichum

Polystichum, or shield ferns, is a large genus consisting of around 180 species of small to medium ferns with the majority occuring throughout the temperate parts of the world. They are considered to be closely related to Dryopteris and are most commonly found in seasonally moist, evergreen forests.

In North America, the eastern and western regions both have their own distinctive species of Polystichum. Those from the west generally do not grow well on the East Coast, and vice versa. Most species of Polystichum are evergreen, and usually have shiny green fronds.

There are eight species which are endemic to California: Polystichum californicum, Polystichum dudleyi, Polystichum imbricans, Polystichum kruckebergii, Polystichum lemmonii, Polystichum lonchitis, Polystichum munitum, and Polystichum scopulinum, along with two sub-species, Polystichum imbricans ssp. curtum and Polystichum imbricans ssp. imbricans.

Plants tend to like light shade and moist, well-drained humus.

The 1997 IUCN Red List of Threatened Plants lists twenty species as threatened, including Polystichum dudleyi which is only found in California.

Click here for a distribution map for Polystichum in the United States and Canada (U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service).

Click here for Polystichum in the the Encyclopedia of Life.

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