Other Common Names: Dagger Fern

Scientific Name: Polystichum acrostichoides

Native to Alabama: Yes

Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center –Sally and Andy Wasowski
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• I am a seedless vascular plant, so I am a fern.
• I keep leaves year-round, so I am evergreen.
• I die back in winter but regrow in spring for many seasons, so I am perennial.
• I can grow 1.5 – 2 feet high and 1 – 2 feet wide.

• Not dormant in winter.
• Fronds remain dark, glossy green during the winter.
• When watering, hold hose to base of plant for a count of 5 seconds. Water should reach all roots.
• Avoid sprinkling water on the leaves.
• Requires average amount of water.

Part Sun/Shade
(2-6 hours of sun per day)

Shade
(Less than 2 hours of sun per day)

• Horsetail plants reproduce by spores rather than seeds.
• Spores are contained in cone-like spore cases at the ends of the stems.
• The spores are dispersed by the wind.
• When the spores land on a damp surface, they grow into small male and female structures.
• Finally, when fertilization takes place, the plant will grow to form the visible stems used to identify the horsetail plant.