Crested Wood Fern Dryopteris cristata
Other Common Name(s):
- Phonetic Spelling
- dry-OP-ter-iss chris-TAH-tah
- Description
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Easy to grow; short, creeping rhizome; often found in marshes, bogs, and swamps but will grow in moist, rich soil; sun or shade.
VIDEO Created by NC State Extension's Homegrown series featuring Mark Weathington, Director of JC Raulston Arboretum.
- Profile Video:
- See this plant in the following landscape:
- Cultivars / Varieties:
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- Tags:
- Cultivars / Varieties:
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- Tags:
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Attributes:
- Genus:
- Dryopteris
- Species:
- cristata
- Family:
- Polypodiaceae
- Life Cycle:
- Perennial
- Country Or Region Of Origin:
- Europe to Central Siberia, Canada to U.S.A
- Particularly Resistant To (Insects/Diseases/Other Problems):
- Heavy shade, This plant is seldom damaged by deer.
- Dimensions:
- Height: 1 ft. 0 in. - 3 ft. 0 in.
- Width: 2 ft. 0 in. - 6 ft. 0 in.
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Whole Plant Traits:
- Plant Type:
- Fern
- Ground Cover
- Herbaceous Perennial
- Native Plant
- Woody Plant Leaf Characteristics:
- Broadleaf Evergreen
- Habit/Form:
- Creeping
- Erect
- Growth Rate:
- Medium
- Maintenance:
- Low
- Texture:
- Medium
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Cultural Conditions:
- Light:
- Dappled Sunlight (Shade through upper canopy all day)
- Deep shade (Less than 2 hours to no direct sunlight)
- Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day)
- Partial Shade (Direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)
- Soil Texture:
- High Organic Matter
- Loam (Silt)
- Soil pH:
- Acid (<6.0)
- Soil Drainage:
- Frequent Standing Water
- Occasionally Wet
- Available Space To Plant:
- 12 inches-3 feet
- 3 feet-6 feet
- NC Region:
- Mountains
- Piedmont
- USDA Plant Hardiness Zone:
- 3a, 3b, 4a, 4b, 5a, 5b, 6a, 6b, 7a, 7b
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Fruit:
- Fruit Description:
- No fruits. This plants reproduces via spores.
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Flowers:
- Flower Description:
- No flowers.
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Leaves:
- Woody Plant Leaf Characteristics:
- Broadleaf Evergreen
- Leaf Color:
- Brown/Copper
- Green
- Leaf Feel:
- Leathery
- Leaf Value To Gardener:
- Showy
- Leaf Type:
- Compound (Pinnately , Bipinnately, Palmately)
- Fronds
- Leaf Arrangement:
- Other/more complex
- Leaf Margin:
- Crenate
- Hairs Present:
- No
- Leaf Length:
- > 6 inches
- Leaf Width:
- > 6 inches
- Leaf Description:
- Blade is upright, narrowly oblong; pinnate-pinnatified; pinnae are narrowly triangular and broadest near the rachis; basal pinnae are about 1 in. long; stiffly erect fertile fronds with pinnae turned at right angles to the frond; shorter sterile fronds are arching and evergreen; not crested; long stipe with numerous, dull brown scales
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Stem:
- Stem Is Aromatic:
- No
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Landscape:
- Landscape Location:
- Meadow
- Naturalized Area
- Near Septic
- Riparian
- Woodland
- Landscape Theme:
- Native Garden
- Rain Garden
- Shade Garden
- Winter Garden
- Design Feature:
- Accent
- Mass Planting
- Resistance To Challenges:
- Deer
- Heavy Shade
- Wet Soil
