Dennstaedtia punctilobula

Dennstaedtia punctilobula
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Division:	Pteridophyta
Class:	Pteridopsida
Order:	Dennstaedtiales
Family:	Dennstaedtiaceae
Genus:	Dennstaedtia
Species:	D. punctilobula
Binomial name
Dennstaedtia punctilobula (Michx.) T.Moore
Synonyms
Dicksonia punctilobula

Dennstaedtia punctilobula (Hay-scented Fern) is a species of fern native to eastern North America, from Newfoundland west to Wisconsin and Arkansas, and south in the Appalachian Mountains to northern Alabama; it is most abundant in the east of its range, with only scattered populations in the west.^[1]

It is a deciduous fern with fronds growing to 40–100 cm (rarely 130 cm) tall and 10–30 cm broad; the fronds are bipinnate, with pinnatifid pinnules about three times as long as broad. It occurs in damp or dry acidic soils in woods or open woods, from sea level up to 1,200 m altitude.^[1]

This fern has the characteristic of turning toward the greatest available light as it grows. Thus when the light source is from one side, as is apparent in the photograph, the individual plants come into alignment with each other^{[citation needed]}. The English name 'Hay-scented Fern' comes from the fact that crushing it produces an aroma of fresh hay.

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Flora of North America: Dennstaedtia punctilobula