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• Dennstaedtia punctilobula

Dennstaedtia punctilobula — eastern hay-scented fern

Facts

Eastern hay-scented fern is so-called because it smells like hay, especially toward the end of the season when the fronds are turning their characteristic yellow-brown color. Because deer generally don't eat it, it forms dense colonies in forest understories that can shade out tree seedlings and hamper regeneration.

Habitat

Anthropogenic (man-made or disturbed habitats), forests, meadows and fields, talus and rocky slopes

Characteristics

• Growth form

  Life form

  the plant is herbaceous and terrestrial

  Life stage

  the plant is visible as a typical leaf-bearing fern (sporophyte)

  Spore-bearing leaflets

  the spore-bearing fronds are similar in size and shape to the sterile fronds

• Leaves

  Features of leaves

  there are no special features on the leaves

  Leaf blade length

  15–90 cm

  Leaf blade shape

  the leaf blades are widest above the base, then taper narrowly towards the tip (lanceolate)

  Leaf blade tip shape

  the tip of the leaf blade is tapered to a narrow point (acuminate)

  Leaf blade width

  At least 12 cm

  Leaf divisions

  • the leaf blade is three times compound (divided into leaflets, which are further divided into leaflets, which are further divided into leaflets), or more
  • the leaf blade is twice compound (divided into leaflets, which are further divided into leaflets)

  Leaf lifespan

  the leaves drop off in winter

  Leaf stalk color

  yellow to brown

  Leaf stalk hairs

  the leaf stalk has hairs

  Leaf stalk length

  100–220 mm

  Leaf stalk relative length

  the leaf stalk is more than a quarter, but less than three quarters as long as the blade

  Leaf stalk scale location

  there are no scales on the leaf stalk

  Leaf stalk scales

  • the leaf stalk has scales
  • there are no scales on the leaf stalk

  Leaf stalk vessels

  1 bundle, U-shaped

  Leaf vein branching

  the secondary veins of the leaf blade branch dichotomously (two equal branches at each branch point)

  Leaf vein tips

  the veins go all the way to the edge of the leaf blade

  Leaflet relative size

  the bottom leaflets are about half as long as, to slightly longer than, the leaflets from the middle of the frond

  Leaflet stalks

  the leaflets are stalked

  Lobe or leaflet length

  80–120 mm

  Lobe or leaflet pairs

  17–40

  Lobe or leaflet shape

  • the lobe or leaflet is widest below the middle and broadly tapering at both ends; egg-shaped
  • the lobe or leaflet is widest below the middle and tapering at both ends; lance-shaped

  Lobe or leaflet width

  20–30 mm

  Plant growth form

  the leaves grow from a rhizome growing at or below the ground

  final leaf segment margin

  • the topmost lobe or leaflet of the leaf blade has a smooth or lobed edge
  • the topmost lobe or leaflet of the leaf blade has an edge with teeth

• Place

  Habitat

  terrestrial

  New England state

  • Connecticut
  • Maine
  • Massachusetts
  • New Hampshire
  • Rhode Island
  • Vermont

  Specific habitat

  • forests
  • man-made or disturbed habitats
  • meadows or fields
  • talus or rocky slopes

• Spores or spore cones

  Sorus features

  there are no special features on the sorus

  Sorus shape

  the sori are circular or kidney-shaped

  Sporangia location

  the spores are clustered on sori on the lower surface of the leaf blade

  Sporangium type

  the sporangia are opaque without an annulus and usually without a stalk (leptosporangiate)

  Spore forms

  there is only one type of spore present

Wetland status

Occurs only in non-wetlands. (Wetland indicator code: UPL)

New England distribution and conservation status

From the dichotomous key of Flora Novae Angliae