Crested Wood Fern
Dryopteris cristata (L.) Gray
D. cristata is small fern, ankle to knee high. It grows in clumps. It is bipinnate-pinnatifid. The pinna are not quiet fully divided a second time. The pinna are angled to give the frond a ladder-like appearance. The stipe is green and grooved. The pinna alternate up the stem.
The stipe has the classic scales found in a wood fern.
This particular specimen was not mature enough to have sori.
The distribution of D. cristata in the US is mostly in the East. [Image from iNaturalist.org]
The fern in this post is found at the Fairfield Audubon, Fairfield, CT, USA, next to the unlabeled pond, at the SW corner of the pond, near the entrance.
