Genus: Polystichum

holly fern

Plants in the fern genus Polystichum have a lobe on the upper side of the base of the finest leaf division. The sori are attached to the leaf by a central stalk, covering the spores like an umbrella. Reference: Wagner (1993).

Family

Dryopteridaceae (wood fern family)

This Genus’s Species in New England:

• Polystichum acrostichoides
• Polystichum braunii

Visit this genus in the Dichotomous Key