DACF Home → Bureaus & Programs → Maine Natural Areas Program → Communities, Plants, and Animals → Rare Plants → Dryopteris goldiana
Dryopteris goldiana (Hook. ex Goldie) Gray
Goldie's Wood Fern
- State Rank: S2
- Global Rank: G4G5
- State Status: Special Concern
Habitat: Rich mostly calcareous woods. [Hardwood to mixed forest (forest, upland)]
Range: Southeastern Canada to the Carolinas; Tennessee, Iowa, and Minnesota.
Aids to Identification: Goldie's wood-fern has a short, creeping rhizome and large, deep green leaves in a crown-like cluster 1-1.5 m high. The twice-divided leaves are about 3/4 broad as long at the base, tapering quickly to a point. The stalk is covered with distinct shiny brown scales about 2.5 cm long.
Ecological characteristics: Known in Maine from rich hardwood forests.
Phenology: Sori apparent in July - August, fronds evergreen.
Family: Polypodiaceae
Synonyms: Aspidium goldianum Hook. ex Goldie.
Known Distribution in Maine: This rare plant has been documented from a total of 26 town(s) in the following county(ies): Aroostook, Franklin, Kennebec, Oxford, Penobscot, Piscataquis, Somerset.
Reason(s) for rarity: Habitat naturally scarce.
Conservation considerations: Effects of logging are not well known; partial removal of the canopy would be less likely to adversely affect the plant than would complete canopy removal.