Dark Light
Rock Polypody Fern
Polypodium virginianum

There is something about the way the leaves are on this fern are; how the indentation is rounded instead of sharp, and kind of wide… In a similar way that as a kid you’d put your hand on a piece of paper, and trace around your fingers, and the indentations would be round and wide, and out and bulbous… it just… this fern just…. I like it.

Alternate Names: Rock Cap Fern, Common Polypody
Family: Polypodiaceae
Habitat: Typically grows on boulders, cliffs, and rocky slopes and does not need well-developed soil. 
Identification: "A small rhizomatous fern with narrow leaves 3.1–15.7 in long and 1.2–2.4 in wide, borne on smooth, scaleless petioles 1.2–5.9 in. Leaves are evergreen, oblong and pinnatifid with acuminate tips. Large, circular sori are prominently featured on the underside of fertile fronds in late summer and autumn. Sporangia are intermixed with long brown glandular hairs." From wikipedia


All text and photos copyright © 2022 Middle Way Nature Reserve, unless noted.
Related Posts
Ebony Spleenwort Leaves

Ebony Spleenwort

When I first identified this lil' guy, I was surprised and giddy to hear that it was something called a "spleenwort," rather than a fern.
Christmas Fern in summer

Christmas Fern

A lovely hardy evergreen fern that keeps the woods green in winter, and can brighten up the home during the winter holidays.
Princess Pine Plant

Princess Pine

Often confused with Running Cedar, this clubmoss is flat-branched, and is also called "Ground Pine" due to its resemblance to a tiny pine tree.