Woodwardia fimbriata

Giant chain fern, Giant Chain Fern

Family: Blechnaceae · Type: Perennial · Native

Giant chain fern is a California native perennial found in California Floristic Province (rare in Great Valley) near streams, springs, and seeps at elevations of 0 to 2,300 meters. An impressive evergreen fern with fronds generally 1 to 3 meters long, featuring large stipes 5 to 15 millimeters wide at the base covered with orange-brown to straw-colored scales. Growing with a short, stout prostrate rhizome, this fern produces pinnae 15 to 30 centimeters long that are often glandular and deeply lobed nearly to the midrib. Its fronds have a coarse texture with lower pinnae somewhat reduced, creating a distinctive layered appearance. The fern produces sporangia in sori generally 2 to 4 millimeters long, characteristic of its robust chain-like structure.

Habitat: Near streams, springs, seeps

Elevation: +- 0-2300 m.

Bioregions: CA-FP (rare GV)

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

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