Lady Fern
Lady Fern
Athyrium filix-femina
Wood Fern Family --- Dryopteridaceae
Leaves, in upright circular groups, are pale green and taper at both the tip and base. Twice-divided with lance-shaped, stalkless, pointed leaflets. Subleaflets small, toothed, blunt-tipped and tend to peter-out towards the tip of the leaflet. Leaf stalks grooved and scaly towards the base.
Up to 3 feet tall, this perennial fern generally grows in wooded swampy areas, but can be found in roadside ditches (wet) and among hardwood stands.
The small spore-producing structures (sori) on the subleaflet undersurface are kidney-shaped and inset from the margin.
  � Pathology Images Inc. 2001 & 2002