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Dixie Wood-fern

Dryopteris × australis

Found in swamps, bottomlands, moist forests, spring runs. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), South Central edition What its natural habitat tells you

17
Modest

Native to Alabama. How scores work Is it native here?

Profile 82%

Height
4–5 feet
Spread
2–3 feet
Light
Dappled sunlight, Deep shade, Partial shade
Soil moisture
Somewhat dry to moist

Space about 2.5 ft apart from its recorded spread, about 16 per 100 sq ft. Enter your bed size for a count

Will it fit your yard?

Rare or protected plant. Specialist conservation planting; excluded from routine garden suggestions. Plant caution source

Hidden from default planting suggestions. Wildlife value and native status remain unchanged.

At a glance

Life cycle
Perennial
Leaves
Deciduous or semi-evergreen

Recorded in 5 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 4

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.

Floodplain and bottomland forests

Forests on low ground beside rivers and streams that flood from time to time.

Moist forests

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

Seeps and springs

Places where groundwater keeps the soil or rock wet, such as seepage slopes and spring runs.

All habitats

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

1CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including AL

Genus host records with ranges including AL · Dryopteris

  • Fagitana litteraMarsh Fern Moth
Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
0BeesSoutheastern regional records
0Specialist beesPollen specialists
2BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim

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

  • Bonasa umbellusRuffed Grouse
  • Lagopus lagopusWillow Ptarmigan
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

No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects

Growing and identification

Plant details

Family
Dryopteridaceae
Hardiness
Zones 5a–9b
Soil pH
Acidic
Growing sources and scope
Also known as

Dixie Wood fern; Dryopteris x australis; Dryopteris × australis

Conservation status

Alabama rankS1
Global rankGNR
AL statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

In your garden

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Sources