Onoclea sensibilis L.

Sensitive Fern; Bead Fern

Herb

Perennial

Vascular

Sensitive Fern is a native perennial deciduous herb in the Sensitive Fern family (Onocleaceae). It can be found throughout Alabama. Sensitive Fern occurs in wet woodlands, along streams and ponds, and in roadside ditches. It often grows on the wettest sites, occasionally in standing water. Sensitive Fern is a perennial with a long creeping rhizome. The fronds (leaves) are produced at irregular intervals along the rhizome. It is dimorphic—producing two kinds of leaves. The sterile leaves are yellowish green in color, triangular in outline, with a black petiole. The blade is pinnately divided into 10-22 pinnae along the winged rachis. The pinnae are lanceolate in outline with entire, sinuate margins. Sensitive Fern reproduces by forming spores. The fertile fronds bear the sporangia in bead-like clusters. Spores remain in the clusters over winter and are released in the early spring as the new leaves emerge. The common name refers to the sensitivity of the leaves to even the slightest frost or drought. Sensitive Fern is occasionally cultivated. In requires a consistently wet soil, but can tolerate full sun. It tends to be aggressive in the garden and can spread quickly. Sensitive Fern is similar to Chain Fern (Woodwardia areolata (Linnaeus) T. Moore), and the two species often grow in the same habitat. Sensitive Fern has pinna that have entire margins and the basal pinnae are opposite. Chain Fern has pinna with serrate margins and the basal pinnae are alternate.—A. Diamond.

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Native FACW (NWPL)

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