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MARSH FERN

NOMENCLATURE

Other Names: feathery fern

 Scientific Name: Dryopteris thelypteris (L.) Gray

 Plant Family: Polypodiaceae

GENERAL INFORMATION

Botanical Description: herbaceous fern

 Stems: no real stems, only leaf (frond) stems

 Leaves: reach 1 - 2 foot height, fronds erect, yellow green, pinnately compound, divided into 1 - 3 inch long oblong segments

 Roots: slender rhizome rootstocks

 Flowers: very small bumplike sporangia fruiting bodies, often dark rust brown, found on the backs of the fertile leaves

Seeds: tiny dustlike spores

 Seedling: First fronds often emerge with leaflets curled like a fiddle head.

ECONOMIC IMPORTANCE

May become a problem weed if preventative measures are not taken.

LIFE CYCLE

Reproduction: perennial

 Propagation: underground rootstocks

 Dispersal: wind-carried spores and spreading rhizomes, often brought in with cuttings or sand

DISTRIBUTION

State: Common in wetlands throughout Wisconsin.

 National: Members of this genus are found in moist soils throughout the continental United States.

 Origin:

ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS

Favors moist soils in woodlands and wild marshes. Common on cranberry marshes, ditchbanks, dikes, roadsides. Once established, spreads easily throughout a cranberry bed.

SCOUTING PROCEDURE/ET

While scouting a cranberry bed for disease and insect pests, identify weed populations as they arise. Note the specie(s) of weed present as well as the population level relative to field area. Example: 30% marsh fern, 10% boneset and joe-pye weed mix.

REFERENCES

Dana, M. 1987. Cranberry Weeds in Wisconsin. Department of Horticulture, University of Wisconsin-Madison. Madison, Wisconsin. p. 25.

 

Gleason, H. A. 1952. Illustrated Flora of the United States and Adjacent Canada. Vol 1. Lancaster Press, Lancaster, Pennsylvania. p. 50-51.

Kummer, L. D., T. G. Dittl, and T. D. Planer. 1993. Wisconsin Cranberry Weeds. Wisconsin Cranberry Board, Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin. p. 16.

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