Dryopteris marginalis – Eastern or Marginal Wood Fern

This common evergreen fern (it occurs in every county in New York State) has a classic fern form. It’s easy to distinguish from other ferns though – by late Spring, when spores are starting to form, look at the underside of a frond. If all the sori (round dots that produce spores) ring the outer margins of the pinnules you’re looking at Marginal Wood Fern – and that’s where the name comes from – the placement of the sori at the margins of the pinnules. The grayish-green color of the fronds is also distinctive. While it prefers moist woodland conditions it’s one of the best native ferns for drier locations and rocky woods with shallow soils.