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Downy Maiden Fern; Downy Woodfern; Soft Fern; Downy Shield Fern; Downy Maidenfern; Downy Wood Fern; Softfern; Downy Shieldfern

Christella dentata

Found in moist forests, hammocks, streambanks, swamps, disturbed areas. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), South Central edition What its natural habitat tells you

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Not native

Not native to Alabama. How scores work Is it native here?

Profile 47%

Soil moisture
Somewhat dry to moist

At a glance

Not yet recorded · Height · Spread · Light · Life cycle · Leaves

This plant is missing most of its facts, so Quercus is looking them up in old botany books.

Recorded in 13 Alabama counties.

Natural habitats

Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.

1 of 5

Swamps

Loblolly bay in a coastal swamp
Regional / representative. Shown: Southern coastal swamps, Florida to Virginia; state not identified, a neighboring state.Loblolly bay in a coastal swamp, Marian Ellis Rowan, 1901. Public domain. Source record.

Moist forests

Forests on moist but not wet ground, such as rich slopes and ravines.

Coastal Plain hammocks

Dense, evergreen groves of live oak, magnolia and other hardwoods in the southern Coastal Plain, from dry oak domes to wet hydric hammocks and south Florida's tropical hammocks; salt-shaped maritime hammocks are maritime forests.

Streams, rivers and their banks

Flowing water and its banks, bars and rocky shoals.

Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground

Ground opened by people: roadsides, old fields, pastures, fencerows and lots.

All habitats

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

6CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including AL

Genus host records with ranges including AL · Thelypteris

  • Callopistria floridensisFlorida Fern Caterpillar
  • Callopistria mollissimaPink-Shaded Fern Moth
  • Euplexia benesimilisAmerican Angle Shades
  • Fagitana litteraMarsh Fern Moth
  • Spodoptera latifasciaOrange-Striped Armyworm, Velvet Armyworm Moth
  • Herpetogramma theseusalis
Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
—BeesSoutheastern regional records
—Specialist beesPollen specialists
1BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim

Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Thelypteris

  • Bonasa umbellusRuffed Grouse
Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)

Direct food only: birds recorded eating this genus across North America. Caterpillars on host plants also feed nesting birds. NC Native Plant Society: butterfly gardening

Growing and identification

Plant details

Family
Thelypteridaceae

Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.

Conservation status

Alabama rankS4
Global rankNot available
AL statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source

Native alternatives

Find natives for your garden

Sources