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Moss, Ferns & Cryptogams

what is this fern?...and what is it DOING??

16 years ago

I figured out this is a Pinnate-Pinnatifid fern, but I'm not sure what type...I thought the strange growths (spores?) would make it easy to ID, but so far I haven't been successful. Can anyone help? It is in the woods near my house in eastern Massachusetts.

{{gwi:608848}}

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Comments (3)

alenka
16 years ago
maybe Interrupted fern, Osmunda claytoniana?
Iris GW
16 years ago
It's propagating itself! Yes, I agree it looks like Interrupted fern and now you can see why it's called that.

Here is a link that might be useful: Osmunda claytoniana
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noki
16 years ago
Yes, they look weird with those interrupted sections.. that is cool that it grows naturally near you. It was suppossed to be sporing like that since before the age of giant dinosaurs, a surviving remnant of primitive early ferns

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