Ferns in Winter Forests

Many different kinds of ferns grace our fields and forests in summer, but most die back to the ground come fall. However, as delicate as they may seem, there are several kinds that stay green all winter. On your next walk, see if you can find these four evergreen ferns. Hint: they often grow together!

The Christmas fern has simple, once-cut fronds. Each frond is divided into leaflets, and each leaflet is shaped like a boot with a heel. The fronds are long and tapered at the tip.

Here’s a perky, evergreen fern that’s called Polypody. Look for these small, leathery, once-cut fronds among the lichens and mosses on boulders.

This one is a twice-cut fern, meaning that each leaflet is divided into smaller sub-leaflets. This one is called the Marginal Wood Fern. If you turn over a leaflet, you’ll see how it got its name…

The fruit dots, which contain the spores, are located on the margins of each sub-leaflet!

And this final one is the laciest of the evergreen ferns – the thrice-cut Intermediate Wood Fern. Even though it seems flimsy and delicate, it stays green under the snow like the other hardy evergreen ferns, ready to carry on photosynthesis as soon as the snow melts in the spring.

Happy fern finding!