Question: Hello, These ferns were collected in Allenstown, NH on a rocky area at the top of a hill (collection date: …
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Question
Hello, These ferns were collected in Allenstown, NH on a rocky area at the top of a hill (collection date: 11/13/2016). The longest blade is 192mm and the shortest, 162mm. I've IDed them to genus with various keys, but cannot get to the species; I think they are either Polypodium appalachium or virgianum. Any help identifying to species would be great. Any tip on differentiating these two species would also be appreciated. Thank you!
Answer
Dear Jackita83, thank you for the nice series of images. It is mostly likely you have Polypodium appalachianum based on the leaf blade outline and leaflet apex shape. There is always variation in these populations, sometimes that variation is merely an phenotypic response to differences in microsites, other times it can represent mixed populations with different species present. However, most of the leaves you have collected are a good fit for Polypodium appalachianum. I hope this is helpful.
