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Species Image Gallery (opens in a new window) |
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| THE MARSH FERN FAMILY | |||||||||
| In Saskatchewan, we have two members of the marsh fern family, long beechfern and eastern marsh fern. These ferns have similar sterile and fertile leaves. The blades are once or twice pinnately lobed and have a covering of transparent, needle-like hairs. The spore sacs, or sporangia, are clustered into sori. The sori are round to oblong and are usually located near the midvein. The indusium is round to kidney-shaped. The sporangia are stalked and release small spores. | |||||||||
| EASTERN MARSH FERN | |||||||||
| LATIN NAME: Thelypteris palustris var. pubescens | |||||||||
| WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE? | |||||||||
| Eastern marsh fern grows from a creeping, black, scaly rhizome. The leaf stalk is straw-coloured above and black below. The leaves are once-pinnate to deeply pinnate-lobed. The margins on the fertile leaves are rolled under and the central axis is not winged. Each leaf has 10 to 15 pairs of pinnae. The lower pinnae are barely equalling or shorter than the middle ones. The coverings on the sori are small, tan-coloured and may be hairy. | |||||||||
| WHERE DOES IT GROW? | |||||||||
| Eastern marsh fern grows in low woods and on swampy ground. | |||||||||
| WHERE IS IT FOUND IN SASKATCHEWAN? | |||||||||
| This plant is found in east-central Saskatchewan in the Boreal Transition ecoregion. | |||||||||
| WHY IS IT RARE? | |||||||||
| Eastern marsh fern is endangered because of extreme rarity in Saskatchewan. This species is regionally restricted and almost always locally sparse. Possible threats have been identified for this species. | |||||||||
| HOW TO IDENTIFY EASTERN MARSH FERN | |||||||||
| * Are the leaves once-pinnate or deeply pinnately-lobed? * Are the leaf margins rolled under? * Is the central axis lacking a wing? * Did you find it in east-central Saskatchewan? | |||||||||
| If you answered yes to all of these questions, you may have found eastern marsh fern! | |||||||||
