36 taxa seen, 19 not seen
Adiantum pedatum L. Locally
abundant
Maidenhair fern
Pellaea atropurpurea L. Link Occasional on cobble rock face, or even in trail
Purple-stemmed cliff-brake
Asplenium x ebenoides R.R. Scott X Not seen
(A.platyneuron x A.rhizophyllum)
Scott’s spleenwort
A. platyneuron (L.) B.S.P. Fairly
common
Ebony spleenwort
A. rhizophyllum L.
(= Camptosorus rhizophyllus (L.) Link Occasional
on cobble; one large colony
Walking fern
A. ruta-muraria L. X Not seen
Wall rue, Wall rue spleenwort
A. trichomanes L. Quite
common on cobble rock crevices
Maidenhair spleenwort
Dennstaedtia punctilobula (Michx.)
T. Moore Limited to south
end of upper Spero Trail, that I saw
Hay-scented fern
var. latiusculum (Desv.) Underw.
ex A. Heller
Bracken, Eastern bracken
var. pseudocaudatum (Clute)
A. Heller X Not seen, not seemingly
plausible
Tailed bracken
Athyrium filix-femina (L.)
Roth
var. angustum (Willd.) G. Lawson Abundant
Northern
lady fern
Cystopteris bulbifera (L.)
Bernh. Very
common not only on and below cobble rocks, but even
Bulblet fern, Bulblet bladder fern along roadsides in places one might expect Hayscented fern
C. tenuis (Michx.) Desv. Occasional
on cobble rocks
(= fragilis var.
mackayi Lawson)
MacKay’s fragile fern, Brittle fern
Silvery spleenwort, Silvery glade fern
(= Athyrium p. (Spreng.) Tidestrom) placement seems artificial
Narrow-leaved glade fern
(D. cristata x D. intermedia) adjacent to D. clintoniana
Boott’s wood fern
(= spinulosa var. l. (Muhl) Underw.)
Spinulose wood fern
D. clintoniana (D.C. Eaton ex A. Gray) Dowell Two plants on downhill side of Bailey Trail, immediately before
( = cristata var. cl. (D.C. Eaton ex A. Gray) Underw.) and a bit after the second bridge
Clinton’s wood fern
D. cristata (L.) A. Gray X Not seen
Crested wood fern
D. goldiana (Hooker) A. Gray A few with Diplazium pycnocarpon below Ledges Trail,
Goldie’s wood fern looking contrived
D. intermedia (Muhl. ex Willd.) A. Gray
(= spinulosa var. i. (Muhl.) Underw.) Extremely common throughout the Reservation
Intermediate wood fern, Glandular wood fern,
Evergreen wood fern
D. marginalis (L.) A. Gray Scattered, sometimes locally common, mostly in drier rocky areas
Marginal wood fern
D. x triploidea Wherry X Too early in season to identify with certainty
(D. carthusiana x D. intermedia)
incl. spinulosa var. fructose (Gilbert) Trudell)
Triploid wood fern
Gymnocarpium dryopteris (L.) Newman X Not seen
ssp. dryopteris
Oak fern
Matteuccia struthiopteris (L.) Todaro Extremely common along river or even along roadsides
(=Pteris pensylvanica (Willd.) Fern.)
Ostrich fern
Onoclea sensibilis L. Common in wetter areas
Sensitive
fern
Polystichum acrostichoides (Michx.) Schott Scattered but not uncommon
Christmas fern
Woodsia ilvensis (L.) R. Brown X Not seen
Rusty woodsia, Cliff-fern
W. obtusa (Spreng.) Torrey Scattered on rock faces on cobble
Blunt-lobed woodsia
Equisetum arvense L.
Field horsetail, Common horsetail Fairly common in many of the wet areas
E. fluviatile L.
River horsetail, Water horsetail X Not seen
E. hyemale L.
var. affine (Engelm.) A.A. Eaton A few stems near parking lot for Ashley House
Scouring rush before bridge
E. sylvaticum L.
(incl. var. pauciramosum Milde) One patch beneath large Osmunda regalis,
Woodland horsetail SE corner of back yard of Ashley House
E. variegatum Schleicher ex Weber & Mohr
Variegated scouring rush X Not seen
Trichomanes intricatum Farrar
Appalachian Trichomanes, Weft-fern Scattered in cavities in mossy rock face along Ledges Trail
Club-moss Family
Diaphasiastrum digitatum (Dillen. ex A. Braun)
Holub
Southern running-pine
Huperzia lucidula (Michx.) Trev.
(= Lycopodium l. Michx.)
Shining fir-moss
Lycopodium clavatum L.
Staghorn, Running or Common club-moss
Botrychium dissectum
Spreng. X Not seen, but it is too early in the
season
incl. var. obliquum (Muhl. ex Willd. Chute) Lace-leaf grapefern
B. matricariifolium (Doll) A. Broun ex W.D.J. Kochh
Daisy-leaf moonwort X Not seen
B. multifidum (Gmel.) Rupr.
(incl. var. intermedium (D.C. Eaton) Farw.) X Not seen
Leathery grapefern
B. virginianum (L.) Sw. One plant 10’ S of Tulip Tree Trail , above Boulder Trail,
Rattlesnake fern below the patch of Phegopteris hexagonoptera
Ophioglossum pusillum Raf. X Not seen
(= vulgatum var. pseudopodium (Blake) Farw.)
Northern adder’s tongue
Osmunda cinnamomea L. Locally abundant in wet areas
Cinnamon fern
O. claytonia L. Common
Interrupted fern
O. regalis L. One very large plant in SE corner of back yard of Ashley House
var.spectabilis (Willd.) A. Gray
Royal fern
Polypodium appalachianum Haufler & Windham Polypodium patches are fairly common on cobbles and boulders.
Appalachian polypody There is considerable morphological variation. I expect that I saw both species
P. virginianum (L.) and also their hybrid P. appalachianum x virginianum
Virginia polypody, Common polypody But I would want to confirm with examination of ripe spores, perhaps in October.
Selaginella apoda (L.) Spring. X Not seen
Meadow spike-moss
S. rupestris (L.) Spring. Occasional on rocks on the cobble. (I saw 2 plants)
Rock spike-moss
Phegopteris connectilis (Michx.) Watt X Not seen
(= Thelypteris phegopteris (L.) Slosson)
Narrow beech fern
P. hexagonoptera (Michx.) Fee Scattered but locally abundant. S side of Tulip Tree Trail, well above Boulder Trail
(= Thelypteris h. (Michx.) Weatherby) Upper Spero Trail at northern end, growing with Thelypteris noveboracensis
Broad beech fern
Thelypteris noveboracensis (L.) Nieuwl. Scattered. A good patch on upper Spero Trail growing with Phegopteris hexagonoptera
New York fern Some along Bailey Trail
T. palustris Schott
Var. pubescens (Laws.) Fern. A few plants along Bailey Trail
Marsh fern Large patch SW of Ashley House back yard
T. simulata (Davenp.) Nieuwl.
Massachusetts fern X Not seen
Annotated by Don Lubin
617-254-8464
8 Ashford St. Allston MA 02134
http://nefern.info