SPECIES: Athyrium filix-femina
|
|
 |
Common ladyfern at Rancho Del Oso Nature Center,
Santa Cruz County, CA. Photo by Barry
Breckling. |
Introductory
SPECIES: Athyrium filix-femina
AUTHORSHIP AND CITATION :
Walkup, Crystal J. 1991. Athyrium filix-femina. In: Fire Effects Information System, [Online].
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service,
Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory (Producer).
Available: https://www.fs.usda.gov
/database/feis/plants/fern/athfil/all.html [].
Revisions : The Taxonomy and Synonyms sections were revised on 8 January 2015,
and citations were added [37,40] to suport these changes. Photos were also added
at that time.
ABBREVIATION :
ATHFIL
NRCS PLANT CODE [37]:
ATFI
COMMON NAMES :
common ladyfern
lady fern
TAXONOMY :
The scientific name for common ladyfern is Athyrium filix-femina (L.) Roth (Dryopteridaceae)
[12,39,40]. Recognized infrataxa are as follows [37]:
Athyrium filix-femina subsp. angustum (Willd.) Clausen, subarctic common ladyfern
Athyrium filix-femina subsp. asplenioides (Michx.) Hulten, asplenium common ladyfern
Athyrium filix-femina subsp. cyclosorum (Rupr.) C. Chr, subarctic common ladyfern
SYNONYMS :
Athyrium filix-femina var. angustum (Willdenow) G. Lawson, northern common ladyfern
Athyrium filix-femina var. asplenioides (Michaux) Farwell, southern common ladyfern
Athyrium filix-femina var. californicum Butters, southwestern common ladyfern
Athyrium filix-femina var. cyclosorum Ruprecht, northwestern common ladyfern [40]
Athyrium filix-femina var. cyclosorum (Ledeb.) Moore
Athyrium filix-femina var. michauxii (Spreng.) Farw.
Athyrium filix-femina var. michauxii (Spreng.) Farw. forma michauxii
Athyrium filix-femina var. michauxii (Spreng.) Farw. forma elatius (Link) Clute
Athyrium filix-femina var. michauxii (Spreng.) Farw. forma rubellum (Gilbert) Farw.
Athyrium filix-femina var. michauxii (Spreng.) Farw. forma laurentianum (Butters) Fern. [12,39]
Athyrium filix-femina var. rubellum Gilbert
Athyrium filix-femina var. sitchense (Rupr.) Ledeb. (documented in [37])
LIFE FORM :
Fern
FEDERAL LEGAL STATUS :
No special status
OTHER STATUS :
NO-ENTRY
DISTRIBUTION AND OCCURRENCE
SPECIES: Athyrium filix-femina
GENERAL DISTRIBUTION :
Common ladyfern is a circumpolar species, occurring from Alaska to the
Atlantic, south to California, Texas, and Florida [38]. The variety
cyclosorum is found from Alaska south to California; variety michauxii
occurs from Labrador and Newfoundland west to northern Saskatchewan and
south to Pennsylvania, Ohio, Wisconsin, and Iowa [12].
ECOSYSTEMS :
FRES10 White - red - jack pine
FRES11 Spruce - fir
FRES15 Oak - hickory
FRES18 Maple - beech - birch
FRES19 Aspen - birch
FRES20 Douglas-fir
FRES21 Ponderosa pine
FRES22 Western white pine
FRES23 Fir - spruce
FRES24 Hemlock - Sitka spruce
FRES25 Larch
FRES27 Redwood
FRES28 Western hardwoods
FRES37 Mountain meadows
STATES :
AL AK AZ AR CA CO CT DE FL GA
ID IL IN IA KS KY LA ME MD MA
MI MN MS MO MT NH NJ NY NC ND
OH OR PA RI SC SD TN TX UT VT
VA WA WV WI WY BC LB MB NB NF
ON PQ SK
BLM PHYSIOGRAPHIC REGIONS :
1 Northern Pacific Border
2 Cascade Mountains
3 Southern Pacific Border
4 Sierra Mountains
5 Columbia Plateau
8 Northern Rocky Mountains
9 Middle Rocky Mountains
11 Southern Rocky Mountains
12 Colorado Plateau
13 Rocky Mountain Piedmont
15 Black Hills Uplift
KUCHLER PLANT ASSOCIATIONS :
K001 Spruce - cedar - hemlock forest
K002 Cedar - hemlock - Douglas-fir forest
K003 Silver fir - Douglas-fir forest
K004 Fir - hemlock forest
K006 Redwood forest
K007 Red fir forest
K012 Douglas-fir forest
K013 Cedar - hemlock - pine forest
K014 Grand fir - Douglas-fir forest
K015 Western spruce - fir forest
K017 Black Hills pine forest
K018 Pine - Douglas-fir forest
K020 Spruce - fir - Douglas-fir forest
K025 Alder - ash forest
K093 Great Lakes spruce - fir forest
K095 Great Lakes pine forest
K096 Northeastern spruce - fir forest
K102 Beech - maple forest
K104 Appalachian oak forest
K108 Northern hardwoods - spruce forest
SAF COVER TYPES :
5 Balsam fir
12 Black spruce
16 Aspen
20 White pine - northern red oak - red maple
21 Eastern white pine
22 White pine - hemlock
23 Eastern hemlock
25 Sugar maple - beech - yellow birch
26 Sugar maple - basswood
31 Red spruce - sugar maple - beech
32 Red spruce
33 Red spruce - balsam fir
35 Paper birch - red spruce - balsam fir
37 Northern white cedar
52 White oak - black oak - northern red oak
53 White oak
55 Northern red oak
60 Beech - sugar maple
201 White spruce
202 White spruce - paper birch
204 Black spruce
205 Mountain hemlock
206 Engelmann spruce - subalpine fir
207 Red fir
212 Western larch
213 Grand fir
215 Western white pine
217 Aspen
221 Red alder
223 Sitka spruce
224 Western hemlock
225 Western hemlock - Sitka spruce
226 Coastal true fir - hemlock
227 Western redcedar - western hemlock
228 Western redcedar
229 Pacific Douglas-fir
230 Douglas-fir - western hemlock
232 Redwood
237 Interior ponderosa pine
243 Sierra Nevada mixed conifer
244 Pacific ponderosa pine - Douglas-fir
251 White spruce
252 Paper birch
253 Black spruce - white spruce
254 Black spruce - paper birch
SRM (RANGELAND) COVER TYPES :
NO-ENTRY
HABITAT TYPES AND PLANT COMMUNITIES :
Common ladyfern occurs as a dominant or subdominant in the following habitat
type (hts), plant association (pas), riparian site type (rst), and
community type (cts) classifications:
Area Classification Authority
n Wisconsin forest hts Kotar and others 1988
Washington: Mt forest pas Moir and others 1988
Rainier Natl Park
c, e Montana riparian veg, rst, Boggs and others 1989
cts, hts
n Idaho forest cts, hts Cooper and others 1991
Alaska: Kenai forest cts Reynolds 1990
peninsula
OR: Willamette Valley forest cts Thilenius 1968
MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS
SPECIES: Athyrium filix-femina
IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE :
The fronds of common ladyfern provide a food source for grizzly bears
[5,19,30]. Roosevelt elk consume common ladyfern in the fall on the Olympic
Peninsula, but it is not a major food species [32]. It is listed as
fair elk and deer food in the Olympic National Forest of Washington
[14]. Common ladyfern contains filicic acid and therefore may be poisonous to
some classes of livestock [14,28].
PALATABILITY :
NO-ENTRY
NUTRITIONAL VALUE :
NO-ENTRY
COVER VALUE :
NO-ENTRY
VALUE FOR REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED SITES :
NO-ENTRY
OTHER USES AND VALUES :
NO-ENTRY
OTHER MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS :
Silvicultural treatments have had variable effects on common ladyfern. In
western Montana common ladyfern was absent from logged redcedar (Thuja
plicata) sites, but in black spruce (Picea mariana) clearcuts in
Ontario, Canada, common ladyfern was present only on the logged sites [8].
Common ladyfern is a major competing species in boreal and sub-boreal spruce
(Picea spp.) forests. Scarification decreases presence and height of
common ladyfern, thereby benefiting tree regeneration [7].
Common ladyfern may indicate high mass wasting potential when found growing
vigorously or in significant numbers (coverage of 10 percent or more).
Its absence, however, does not imply slope stability [27].
BOTANICAL AND ECOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS
SPECIES: Athyrium filix-femina
GENERAL BOTANICAL CHARACTERISTICS :
Common ladyfern is an introduced deciduous perennial fern. Tufted, erect
fronds may grow to 6.6 feet (2 m). They spread vegetatively from stout,
chaffy rhizomes. Common ladyfern is often confused with wood fern (Dryopteris
carthusiana) but can be readily distinguished by its elongate, sometimes
curved (rather than round) sori, which are covered by an indusium
attached on one side [12].
RAUNKIAER LIFE FORM :
Cryptophyte (geophyte)
 |
Sporangia on the underside of northwestern common ladyfern fronds.
Photo by Charles Webber © California Academy of Sciences. |
REGENERATION PROCESSES :
Common ladyfern reproduces by rhizomes and spores. The spores disperse from
the sporangia (spore-bearing case), pictured above. Following the eruption
of Mount St. Helens, common ladyfern sprouted from axillary buds of transported
rhizomes [1].
SITE CHARACTERISTICS :
Common ladyfern is found growing in meadows, open thickets, moist woods, and
occasionally in swamps [12]. In West Virginia it occurred in marshy
areas where water stood 2 to 4 inches deep (5.0 to 10.2 cm), even in the
dry season [9]. It commonly grows in the understory of western
redcedar, western hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla), Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga
menziesii), white spruce (Picea glauca), and black spruce [4]. It may
reach 50 to 100 percent cover under some redcedar stands where seepage
maintains high soil moisture [36].
Elevations at which common ladyfern occurs vary by geographic location as
follows:
Location Elevation
Arizona 7,000 to 9,000 feet (2,134-2,743 m) [21]
California 4,000 to 9,500 feet (1,219-2,896 m) [26]
Idaho 4,100 to 4,300 feet (1,250-1,311 m) [34]
Utah 7,400 to 10,500 feet (2,250-3,200 m) [38]
Vermont 1,600 to 2,200 feet (480-670 m) [33]
West Virginia 1,100 to feet (334 m) [9]
British Columbia 2,950 feet (900) [7]
Ontario 1,000 feet (305 m) [7]
SUCCESSIONAL STATUS :
Common ladyfern can colonize cracks in rocks and crevices between rocks,
making it a true pioneer species. More frequently it occurs as a
dominant on perennially wet soil with other herbs. It can survive
severe battering if roots are protected and in constant contact with
water [10].
Common ladyfern is not a pioneer species in Sitka spruce floodplains on the
west coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia. It appears initially
in the young seral stage under the cover of red alder (Alnus rubra), and
increases in cover value from the young seral to the mature climax
stage. It is a dominant herb in these mature climax floodplain forests
dominated by Sitka spruce and western hemlock [11]. In Sitka
spruce-western hemlock forests of southeast Alaska, common ladyfern, along
with spreading woodfern (Dryopteris austriaca) and bunchberry (Cornus
canadensis), tends to dominate in the early stages of succession (1 to
25 years after logging) on moist microsites where tree and shrub
regeneration is sparse [2]. In Glacier National Park, Montana, common ladyfern is characteristically restricted to climax cedar-hemlock forests
[18].
SEASONAL DEVELOPMENT :
Common ladyfern fronds began dropping in early October in Oregon, apparently
as a result of frost. Usually all fronds have dropped by November [10].
FIRE ECOLOGY
SPECIES: Athyrium filix-femina
FIRE ECOLOGY OR ADAPTATIONS :
Common ladyfern often occurs on wet sites that burn infrequently. The
redcedar/common ladyfern habitat type is characterized by infrequent (> 200
years), low-intensity fires [3].
Common ladyfern sprouts from surviving rhizomes following fire.
FIRE REGIMES :
Find fire regime information for the plant communities in which this
species may occur by entering the species name in the FEIS home page under
"Find Fire Regimes".
POSTFIRE REGENERATION STRATEGY :
survivor species; on-site surviving rhizomes
FIRE EFFECTS
SPECIES: Athyrium filix-femina
IMMEDIATE FIRE EFFECT ON PLANT :
Common ladyfern is top-killed by fire.
PLANT RESPONSE TO FIRE :
Fire decreases common ladyfern cover and frequency on drier sites, but
sprouting is likely on subhygric sites [20]. Common ladyfern did not
survive a moderate severity fire in mature western red cedar and western
hemlock stands in northern Idaho[34].
DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF PLANT RESPONSE :
The Research Papers (Hamilton 2006a, Hamilton 2006b)
and Research Project Summary of Hamilton's studies provide information
on prescribed fire and postfire response of many plant species, including
common ladyfern, that was not available when this species review was originally written.
FIRE MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS :
NO-ENTRY
REFERENCES
SPECIES: Athyrium filix-femina
REFERENCES :
1. Adams, A. B.; Dale, V. H.; Smith, E. P.; Kruckeberg, A. R. 1987. Plant
survival, growth form and regeneration following the 18 May 1980
eruption of Mount St. Helens, Washington. Northwest Science. 61(3):
160-170. [6886]
2. Alaback, Paul B. 1984. Plant succession following logging in the Sitka
spruce-western hemlock forests of southeast Alaska. Gen. Tech. Rep.
PNW-173. Portland, OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service,
Pacific Northwest Forest and Range Experiment Station. 26 p. [7849]
3. Arno, Stephen F.; Davis, Dan H. 1980. Fire history of western
redcedar/hemlock forests in northern Idaho. In: Stokes, Marvin A.;
Dieterich, John H., technical coordinators. Proceedings of the fire
history workshop; 1980 October 20-24; Tucson, AZ. Gen. Tech. Rep. RM-81.
Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky
Mountain Forest and Range Experiment Station: 21-26. [12809]
4. Bailey, Arthur Wesley. 1966. Forest associations and secondary
succession in the southern Oregon Coast Range. Corvallis, OR: Oregon
State University. 166 p. Thesis. [5786]
5. Banner, Allen; Pojar, Jim; Trowbridge, Rick; Hamilton, Anthony. 1986.
Grizzly bear habitat in the Kimsquit River Valley, coastal British
Columbia: classification, description, and mapping. In: Contreras, Glen
P.; Evans, Keith E., compilers. Proceedings--grizzly bear habitat
symposium; 1985 April 30 - May 2; Missoula, MT. Gen. Tech. Rep. INT-207.
Ogden, UT: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Intermountain
Research Station: 36-49. [10810]
6. Boggs, Keith; Hansen, Paul; Pfister, Robert; Joy, John. 1990.
Classification and management of riparian and wetland sites in
northwestern Montana. Missoula, MT: University of Montana, School of
Forestry, Montana Forest and Conservation Experiment Station, Montana
Riparian Association. 217 p. Draft Version 1. [8447]
7. Brand, David G. 1991. The establishment of boreal and sub-boreal conifer
plantations: an integrated analysis of environmental conditions and
seedling growth. Forest Science. 37(1): 68-100. [14408]
8. Brumelis, G.; Carleton, T. J. 1989. The vegetation of post-logged black
spruce lowlands in central Canada. II. Understory vegetation. Journal of
Applied Ecology. 26: 321-339. [7864]
9. Bush, Eleanor M. 1988. A floristic study of a wet meadow in Barbour
County, West Virginia. Castanea. 53(2): 132-139. [10117]
10. Campbell, Alsie Gilbert; Franklin, Jerry F. 1979. Riparian vegetation in
Oregon's western Cascade Mountains: composition, biomass, and autumn
phenology. Bull. No. 14. Seattle, WA: U.S./International Biological
Program, University of Washington, Ecosystem Analysis Studies,
Coniferous Forest Biome. 90 p. [8433]
11. Clement, C. J. E. 1985. Floodplain succession on the west coast of
Vancouver Island. Canadian Field-Naturalist. 99(1): 34-39. [8928]
12. Cody, William J.; Britton, Donald M. 1989. Ferns and fern allies of
Canada. Ottawa, ON: Agriculture Canada, Research Branch. 430 p. [13078]
13. Cooper, Stephen V.; Neiman, Kenneth E.; Roberts, David W. 1991. (Rev.)
Forest habitat types of northern Idaho: a second approximation. Gen.
Tech. Rep. INT-236. Ogden, UT: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest
Service, Intermountain Research Station. 143 p. [14792]
14. Dayton, William A. 1960. Notes on western range forbs: Equisetaceae
through Fumariaceae. Agric. Handb. 161. Washington, DC: U.S. Department
of Agriculture, Forest Service. 254 p. [767]
15. Eyre, F. H., ed. 1980. Forest cover types of the United States and
Canada. Washington, DC: Society of American Foresters. 148 p. [905]
16. Freedman, June D.; Habeck, James R. 1985. Fire, logging, and
white-tailed deer interrelationships in the Swan Valley, northwestern
Montana. In: Lotan, James E.; Brown, James K., compilers. Fire's effects
on wildlife habitat--symposium proceedings; 1984 March 21; Missoula, MT.
Gen. Tech. Rep. INT-186. Ogden, UT: U.S. Department of Agriculture,
Forest Service, Intermountain Research Station: 23-35. [8319]
17. Garrison, George A.; Bjugstad, Ardell J.; Duncan, Don A.; [and others].
1977. Vegetation and environmental features of forest and range
ecosystems. Agric. Handb. 475. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of
Agriculture, Forest Service. 68 p. [998]
18. Habeck, James R. 1968. Forest succession in the Glacier Park
cedar-hemlock forests. Ecology. 49(5): 872-880. [6479]
19. Hamilton, Anthony; Archibald, W. Ralph. 1986. Grizzly bear habitat in
the Kimsquit River Valley, coastal British Columbia: evaluation. In:
Contreras, Glen P.; Evans, Keith E., compilers. Proceedings-grizzly bear
habitat symposium; 1985 April 30 - May 2; Missoula, MT. Gen. Tech. Rep.
INT-207. Ogden, UT: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service,
Intermountain Research Station: 50-56. [10811]
20. Hawkes, B. C.; Feller, M. C.; Meehan, D. 1990. Site preparation: fire.
In: Lavender, D. P.; Parish, R.; Johnson, C. M.; [and others], eds.
Regenerating British Columbia's forests. Vancouver, BC: University of
British Columbia Press: 131-149. [10712]
21. Kearney, Thomas H.; Peebles, Robert H.; Howell, John Thomas; McClintock,
Elizabeth. 1960. Arizona flora. 2d ed. Berkeley, CA: University of
California Press. 1085 p. [6563]
22. Kotar, John; Kovach, Joseph A.; Locey, Craig T. 1988. Field guide to
forest habitat types of northern Wisconsin. Madison, WI: University of
Wisconsin, Department of Forestry; Wisconsin Department of Natural
Resources. 217 p. [11510]
23. Kuchler, A. W. 1964. Manual to accompany the map of potential vegetation
of the conterminous United States. Special Publication No. 36. New York:
American Geographical Society. 77 p. [1384]
24. Lyon, L. Jack; Stickney, Peter F. 1976. Early vegetal succession
following large northern Rocky Mountain wildfires. In: Proceedings, Tall
Timbers fire ecology conference and Intermountain Fire Research Council
fire and land management symposium; 1974 October 8-10; Missoula, MT. No.
14. Tallahassee, FL: Tall Timbers Research Station: 355-373. [1496]
25. Moir, W. H.; Hobson, F. D.; Hemstrom, M.; Franklin, J. F. 1979. Forest
ecosystems of Mount Rainier National Park. In: Linn, Robert M., ed.
Proceedings, 1st conference on scientific research in the National
Parks: Vol I; 1976 Nov. 9-12; New Orleans, LA. National Park Service
Transactions and Proceedings Series No. 5. Washington, DC: U.S.
Department of the Interior, National Park Service: 201-207. [1674]
26. Munz, Philip A. 1973. A California flora and supplement. Berkeley, CA:
University of California Press. 1905 p. [6155]
27. Pole, Michael W.; Satterlund, Donald R. 1978. Plant indicators of slope
instability. Journal of Soil and Water Conservation. Sept-Oct: 230-232.
[8199]
28. Ratliff, Raymond D. 1985. Meadows in the Sierra Nevada of California:
state of knowledge. Gen. Tech. Rep. PSW-84. Berkeley, CA: U.S.
Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Southwest Forest and
Range Experiment Station. 52 p. [8275]
29. Raunkiaer, C. 1934. The life forms of plants and statistical plant
geography. Oxford: Clarendon Press. 632 p. [2843]
30. Reichert, Chris. 1989. Silviculture in grizzly bear habitat. In:
Silviculture for all resources: Proceedings of the national silviculture
workshop; 1987 May 11-14; Sacramento, CA. Washington, DC: U.S.
Department of Agriculture, Forest Service: 48-60. [6398]
31. Reynolds, Keith M. 1990. Preliminary classification of forest vegetation
of the Kenai Penninsula, Alaska. Res. Pap. PNW-RP-424. Portland, OR:
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest
Research Station. 67 p. [14581]
32. Schwartz, John E., II; Mitchell, Glen E. 1945. The Roosevelt elk on the
Olympic Peninsula, Washington. Journal of Wildlife Management. 9(4):
295-319. [8878]
33. Siccama, T. G.; Bormann, F. H.; Likens, G. E. 1970. The Hubbard Brook
ecosystem study: productivity, nutrients and phytosociology of the
herbaceous layer. Ecological Monographs. 40(4): 389-402. [8875]
34. Stickney, Peter F. 1985. Data base for early postfire succession on the
Sundance Burn, northern Idaho. Gen. Tech. Rep. INT-189. Ogden, UT: U.S.
Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Intermountain Research
Station. 121 p. [7223]
35. Thilenius, John F. 1968. The Quercus garryana forests of the Willamette
Valley, Oregon. Ecology. 49(6): 1124-1133. [8765]
36. Turner, David P.; Franz, Eldon H. 1986. The influence of canopy
dominants on understory vegetation patterns in an old-growth
cedar-hemlock forest. American Midland Naturalist. 116(2): 387-393.
[7469]
37. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service.
2016. PLANTS Database, [Online]. Available: https://plants.usda.gov
/.
[34262]
38. Welsh, Stanley L.; Atwood, N. Duane; Goodrich, Sherel; Higgins, Larry
C., eds. 1987. A Utah flora. Great Basin Naturalist Memoir No. 9. Provo,
UT: Brigham Young University. 894 p. [2944]
39. Wofford, B. Eugene. 1989. Guide to the vascular plants of the Blue
Ridge. Athens, GA: The University of Georgia Press. 384 p. [12908]
40. Flora of North America Editorial Committee, eds. 2016. Flora of North
America north of Mexico, [Online]. Flora of North America Association
(Producer). Available: http://www.efloras.org/flora_page.aspx?flora_id=1.
[36990]
FEIS Home Page
https://www.fs.usda.gov/database/feis/plants/fern/athfil/all.html
