Dig into Plants: Christmas Fern

Christmas Fern

Other Common Names: Dagger Fern

Scientific Name: Polystichum acrostichoides

Native to Alabama: Yes

Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center – Sally and Andy Wasowski

Learn More About...

Basic Plant Information

Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center – Sally and Andy Wasowski

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.

Ecological Benefits

White-tailed deer browse leaves during summer; can provide significant cover for wildlife; provides groundcover in the winter; songbirds use plant parts for nest materials in the spring

Maintenance Notes

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.

Average watering: water two times per week during the summer and once per week during the rest of the year.

Habitat Requirements

This plant prefers:

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

Shade
(Less than 2 hours of sun per day)

Average Watering

Well-drained, Sandy, Loamy,
or Moist Soil

Leaf, Flower & Seed Identification

Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center – Stephanie Brundage

LEAF DESCRIPTION

Fronds (leaves) are dark green, appear glossy or leathery and have stocking-shaped leaflets; fiddleheads (young leaves) appear to have silvery scales when they emerge in spring; reproductive fronds are narrower at the tip and die in winter; sterile fronds remain evergreen; black spores on underside of leaf.

Leaf Characteristics Chart (PDF)


Shape: Lanceolate	Margin: Dentate

Arrangement: Whorled	Form: Pinnately Compund

FLOWER DESCRIPTION

Christmas Fern is not a flowering plant

Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center – Stephanie Brundage

SEED DESCRIPTION

Plant spreads by:
Rhizomes/Tubers/Roots & Shoots
Underground rhizomes spread and create new clumps of plants; spores spread by air or animals passing by


Type: Spores	Description: no fruit or seeds, reproduces by spores; spores are found in sori on the bottom of the sub leaflets	Months in Seed: Spores released Summer-Fall

Plant Life Cycle

Plant Life Cycle:

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.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES FOR TEACHERS

Quick Fact Sheet
(Condensed Species Info)

Plant ID Sign (Text Only):
Ready as-is PDF

Plant ID Sign (With Picture):
Ready as-is PDF

QR Code
(Links to this Webpage)

Plant ID Sign (Text Only):
Editable Word Doc

Plant ID Sign (With Picture):
Editable Word Doc

FOLLOW US

JOIN/RENEW

SHOP

QUICK LINKS

HABITAT LEARNING LAB: