Dixie Wood Fern Dryopteris x australis
Other Common Name(s):
Previously known as:
- Dryopteris clintoniana
- Dryopteris cristata
- Phonetic Spelling
- dry-OP-ter-iss au-STRAH-lis
- Description
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Dixie Wood Fern is a naturally occurring NC native hybrid, deciduous fern in the Polypodiaceae family, that is mostly sterile and becoming increasingly rare in the southeastern United States. It is a cross between D. celsa x D. ludoviciana. It tolerates the dry summers under the canopy of forests and wet sites of swampier areas. This fern is attractive with arching fronds and clump-forming with short rhizomes. It prefers shade to part shade in rich moist humus soils.
Use in a woodland setting, along streams or ponds or a rain garden.
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 landscapes:
- Juniper Level Botanic Gardens: Front Shade Garden Sun to Shade Garden in Craven County
- Cultivars / Varieties:
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- Tags:
- Cultivars / Varieties:
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- Tags:
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Attributes:
- Genus:
- Dryopteris
- Species:
- australis
- Family:
- Dryopteridaceae
- Life Cycle:
- Perennial
- Recommended Propagation Strategy:
- Division
- Country Or Region Of Origin:
- SE USA
- Distribution:
- Virginia south to Louisiana.
- Particularly Resistant To (Insects/Diseases/Other Problems):
- Heavy Shade, This plant is seldom damaged by deer.
- Dimensions:
- Height: 4 ft. 0 in. - 5 ft. 0 in.
- Width: 2 ft. 0 in. - 3 ft. 0 in.
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Whole Plant Traits:
- Plant Type:
- Fern
- Native Plant
- Woody Plant Leaf Characteristics:
- Deciduous
- Semi-evergreen
- Habit/Form:
- Clumping
- Creeping
- Erect
- Vase
- Growth Rate:
- Medium
- Maintenance:
- Low
- Texture:
- Fine
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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)
- Partial Shade (Direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)
- Soil Texture:
- Clay
- High Organic Matter
- Loam (Silt)
- Soil pH:
- Acid (<6.0)
- Soil Drainage:
- Good Drainage
- Moist
- Occasionally Dry
- Occasionally Wet
- Available Space To Plant:
- 12 inches-3 feet
- 3 feet-6 feet
- NC Region:
- Coastal
- USDA Plant Hardiness Zone:
- 5a, 5b, 6a, 6b, 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b, 9a, 9b
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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:
- Deciduous
- Semi-evergreen
- Leaf Color:
- Green
- Leaf Feel:
- Glossy
- Soft
- Leaf Value To Gardener:
- Showy
- Deciduous Leaf Fall Color:
- Brown/Copper
- Leaf Type:
- Compound (Pinnately , Bipinnately, Palmately)
- Fronds
- Leaf Arrangement:
- Alternate
- Other/more complex
- Leaf Shape:
- Lanceolate
- Leaf Margin:
- Crenate
- Hairs Present:
- No
- Leaf Length:
- > 6 inches
- Leaf Width:
- > 6 inches
- Leaf Description:
- Slender, lustrous, dark green fronds. The fertile terminal quarter of the frond has smaller segments and does not produce viable spores. Bipinnate with alternating bright green leaflets grow 4-5' tall.
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Stem:
- Stem Is Aromatic:
- No
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Landscape:
- Landscape Location:
- Naturalized Area
- Near Septic
- Pond
- Riparian
- Woodland
- Landscape Theme:
- Native Garden
- Rain Garden
- Shade Garden
- Winter Garden
- Design Feature:
- Accent
- Border
- Mass Planting
- Resistance To Challenges:
- Dry Soil
- Heavy Shade
- Wet Soil
