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Virginia Chain-fern

Woodwardia virginica

Found in floodplain and bottomland forests; pocosins and bay forests; depression ponds and limesinks; Coastal Plain hammocks. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Florida edition What its natural habitat tells you

25
Good

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

Profile 100%

Height
2–4 feet
Spread
2–3 feet
Light
Dappled sunlight, Deep shade, Full sun, 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?

At a glance

Life cycle
Perennial
Leaves
Deciduous
Bloom
April to December

Recorded in 66 Florida 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

Floodplain and bottomland forests

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

Pocosins and bay forests

Dense evergreen shrub wetlands and bay forests on wet, acid peat of the Coastal Plain.

Depression ponds and limesinks

Shallow ponds in Coastal Plain depressions, such as limesinks and the ponds in some Carolina bays, that rise and fall with the seasons.

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.

All habitats

Also found with this plant

Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Florida. Shared habitat, not food. 210 animals.

All wildlife of Florida

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

5CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including FL

Genus host records with ranges including FL · Woodwardia

  • Callopistria floridensisFlorida Fern Caterpillar
  • Fagitana litteraMarsh Fern Moth
  • Herpetogramma aeglealisSerpentine Webworm
  • Papaipema stenocelisChain Fern Borer
  • Herpetogramma theseusalis
Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
0BeesSoutheastern regional records
0Specialist beesPollen specialists
—BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim

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

Growing and identification

Plant details

Family
Blechnaceae
Hardiness
Zones 4a–10b
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
Also known as

Virginia Chain Fern; Woodwardia virginica

Conservation status

Florida rankS4S5
Global rankG5
FL statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

In your garden

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Sources