Description: This fern usually forms loose rosettes of ascending leaves about 1-2' long; less often, leaves are produced in pairs or individually. The short petiole (stipe) of the leaf is light green to straw-colored and mostly scaleless and glabrous, except sometimes at the base. The central stalk (rachis) of the leaf is light green and finely pubescent. Each leaf blade is up to 20" long and 6½" across; it has elliptic outline and pinnate-pinnatifid structure. Each leaf blade has about 15-30 pairs of nearly sessile leaflets (up to 3¼" long); the length of these leaflets tapers gradually at both the top and bottom of the leaf blade. Individual leaflets are lanceolate to linear-lanceolate and deeply pinnatifid with 3-15 pairs of lobes. The lobes are up to 1/3" (1 cm.) in length, short-oblong in shape, smooth along the margins, and slightly ciliate, becoming shorter toward the tips of the leaflets. On the underside of the lobes, the lateral veins can be either forked or undivided. The upper surface of the blade is light green to medium green and either hairless or sparsely covered with fine hairs. The lower surface of the blade is light green and sparsely to moderately covered with fine hairs.
The small sporangia (spore-bearing
structures) are located along the lobes of the leaf underside; they are
reniform-orbicular in shape and covered with indusia (pale membranes) that have
glandular hairs. The spores are released by the sporangia during the summer and
distributed by the wind. The root system is fibrous and rhizomatous. This fern
occasionally forms colonies of varying size. The leaves are deciduous and die
down during the fall.
Cultivation:
The preference is dappled sunlight to medium shade, moist to dry-mesic
conditions, and loamy, sandy, or rocky soil that is somewhat acidic. This fern
should be located in an area that is protected from prevailing winds.
Range & Habitat: The native New York Fern is
widely scattered and rare in Illinois (see
Distribution
Map); it is state-listed as 'endangered,' but is more common in areas
further to the east. Habitats include rocky upland woodlands, shaded sandstone
cliffs, low areas along streams in wooded areas, shaded seeps and springs along
hillsides and ravines, and swamps. In Illinois, this fern is found in high
quality habitats where the original ground flora is intact.
Faunal Associations: The caterpillars of
Callopistria mollissima (Pink-Shaded Fern Moth) feed on the leaves of
this fern. Otherwise, this fern appears to have low value to
wildlife.
Photographic Location: A
swampy area of Goll Woods in NW Ohio.
Comments: This medium-sized fern has a delicate and
attractive appearance. It can be distinguished from other ferns by the shape of
its leaf blades, which tapers gradually in width, not only at the apex, but
also on the bottom. As a result, the leaflets near the petioles are very short.
Other ferns usually have leaf blades with a more lanceolate shape and their
lower leaflets are longer. An exception is the Ostrich Fern (Matteuccia
struthiopteris), which has elliptic-oblanceolate leaf blades that also
taper gradually at the bottom. However, the Ostrich Fern is much larger in size
(3-5' tall) than New York Fern, and its leaves are highly dimorphic, producing
large sterile leaves and small fertile leaves that are more brown and
constricted in appearance. Another fern, Asplenium platyneuron (Ebony
Spleenwort), also has leaflets that can taper toward the base of the blade, but
its leaflets are smooth along their sides, rather than
pinnatifid.