Athyrium filix-femina var. cyclosorum

Common lady fern

Family: Athyriaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Common lady fern is a California native perennial found in the California Floristic Province and Modoc Plateau in woodland, stream edges, and seepage areas at elevations up to 3,200 meters. Reproducing through spores rather than flowering, this fern has large, intricate fronds with delicate green leaves that are elliptic to lanceolate in shape. Growing to approximately one meter tall, it develops complex multi-pinnate leaves with distinctive lower pinnae pairs smaller than those above. Its leaf blades are elegantly divided, with ultimate segments pinnately lobed and slightly toothed, and the midribs near the base often featuring tiny, branched hairs less than a millimeter long. The fern's intricate leaf structure and ability to thrive in moist woodland environments make it a characteristic species of California's sheltered, shaded ecosystems.

Habitat: Woodland, along streams, seepage areas

Elevation: < 3200 m

Bioregions: CA-FP (exc Teh, ScV, SCoRI, SCo, WTR, PR exc SnJt), MP

California counties: Plumas, Tulare, Mono, San Luis Obispo, Los Angeles, Butte, El Dorado, Amador, Tuolumne, Nevada, San Bernardino, Monterey, San Francisco, Santa Cruz, Placer, Siskiyou, Mariposa, Santa Barbara, Mendocino, Del Norte, Sonoma, Glenn, Contra Costa, Santa Clara, Lassen, San Joaquin, Calaveras, Inyo, San Mateo, Trinity, Tehama, Madera, Riverside, Yuba, Stanislaus, Lake, Shasta, Kern, Napa, Marin, Humboldt, Colusa, Alameda, Alpine, Modoc, Sierra, Fresno

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.