Netted Chain-fern
Lorinseria areolata
Found in moist to wet, acid, organic soils, such as bogs, blackwater bottomlands, pocosins, wet hammocks. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), South Central edition What its natural habitat tells you
Native to Alabama. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 100%
- Height
- 1.5–2 feet
- Spread
- 1–2 feet
- Light
- Dappled sunlight, Deep shade, Partial shade
- Soil moisture
- Moist to standing water
Space about 1.5 ft apart from its recorded spread, about 44 per 100 sq ft. Enter your bed size for a count
Will it fit your yard?
At a glance
- Life cycle
- Perennial
- Leaves
- Deciduous
- Bloom
- May to September
Recorded in 66 Alabama counties.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.
Floodplain and bottomland forests
Forests on low ground beside rivers and streams that flood from time to time.
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.
Also found with this plant
Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Alabama. Shared habitat, not food. 155 animals.
- Alder FlycatcherEmpidonax alnorum
- American PipitAnthus rubescens
- Bank SwallowRiparia riparia
- Black-billed CuckooCoccyzus erythropthalmus
- Black-throated Blue WarblerDendroica caerulescens
- Blue-winged WarblerVermivora pinus
- Boat-tailed GrackleQuiscalus major
- Chuck-will's-widowCaprimulgus carolinensis
- Cliff SwallowPetrochelidon pyrrhonota
- Common Ground-doveColumbina passerina
- Dark-eyed JuncoJunco hyemalis
- Fox SparrowPasserella iliaca
- Golden-winged WarblerVermivora chrysoptera
- Henslow's SparrowAmmodramus henslowii
- Horned GrebePodiceps auritus
- Least SandpiperCalidris minutilla
- Lesser ScaupAythya affinis
- Little Blue HeronEgretta caerulea
- Long-billed DowitcherLimnodromus scolopaceus
- Mottled DuckAnas fulvigula
- Northern BobwhiteColinus virginianus
- Northern PintailAnas acuta
- Northern Saw-whet OwlAegolius acadicus
- Painted BuntingPasserina ciris
Who uses this plant?
5CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including AL
Genus host records with ranges including AL · Woodwardia
- Callopistria floridensisFlorida Fern Caterpillar
- Fagitana litteraMarsh Fern Moth
- Herpetogramma aeglealisSerpentine Webworm
- Papaipema stenocelisChain Fern Borer
- Herpetogramma theseusalis
No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects
Plant details
- Family
- Blechnaceae
- Hardiness
- Zones 3a–9b
- Soil pH
- Acidic
- Flower color
- Not applicable
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “May to September” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
- Flower color · “Not applicable” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Hardiness · “Zones 3a–9b” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finder differs)
- Height · “1.5–2 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Leaves · “Deciduous” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Life cycle · “Perennial” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Light · “Dappled sunlight (shade through upper canopy all day); Deep shade (less than 2 hours to no direct sunlight); Partial shade (direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finder differ)
- Soil · “Frequent standing water; Moist; Occasionally wet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finder differ)
- Soil pH · “Acidic” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Spread · “1–2 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finder differs)
Also known as
Netted Chain Fern; Woodwardia areolata
Conservation status
| Alabama rank | SNR |
|---|---|
| Global rank | G5 |
| AL status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
Will it fit your yard?
Check this plant against your county, sun and soil moisture. Conditions are checked in your browser.
Sources
- Alabama Plant Atlas
- USDA PLANTS
- Vascular Plants of North Carolina (NC Natural Heritage Program)
- Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025)
- Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
- Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Smith, Bachelder, Russell, Morales, Mosher & Seltmann 2024, Bee-Specialization-Modeling v0.6.1 (specialist host table compiled from J. Fowler's pollen specialist bee lists), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)
- Narango, Tallamy & Shropshire 2020, Few keystone plant genera support the majority of Lepidoptera species, Nature Communications

























