Stats

Lifespan

Perennial

Size

Medium

Diet

Photosynthetic

Biome

Temperate woodland

Range

North America

Movement

Sessile

Breeding

Spores

Defense

Toxins

Status

Uncommon

About

The coastal woodfern grows in shady canyons along the North American west coast. Its fronds uncurl from tight, fuzzy spirals that can reach three feet in length.

Life cycle

1. 1.
   seed

   A dormant seed waits for water and warmth before germinating.
2. 2.
   sprout

   A first shoot emerges with cotyledon leaves and a tap root reaching down.
3. 3.
   sapling

   A young plant grows true leaves and a stem or trunk, putting on height each season.
4. 4.
   mature

   Fully grown, flowering or fruiting at adult size.

Learn more

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Taxonomy

Kingdom

Plantae

Phylum

Tracheophyta

Class

Polypodiopsida

Order

Polypodiales

Family

Dryopteridaceae

Genus

Dryopteris

Species

Dryopteris arguta