I finally took a field trip this weekend to a site I've long wanted to visit - Fern Hammock Springs, part of the Juniper Springs Recreation Area in Ocala National Forest, south of Gainesville. The site lived up to its name, with quite a few fern species, including several that are endemic to the southeastern US but that I don't see often.
Dryopteris ludoviciana is also known as the Southern Shield Fern. It has one of the narrowest ranges of ferns in the genus
Dryopteris, and is endemic only to Florida and parts of other southeastern states.
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| Dryopteris ludoviciana |
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| Dryopteris ludoviciana |
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| Vittaria lineata |
Lygodium japonicum is a vining fern that's invasive in the US. It was introduced from Asia several decades ago and there are places where it and another invasive
Lygodium,
L. microphyllum, can be extremely intrusive and damaging weeds.
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| Lygodium japonicum |
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| Lygodium japonicum |
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| Hole left behind by a tree (probably a palm) |
