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Southern Wood-fern

Dryopteris ludoviciana

Found in blackwater swamp forests, hammocks, baygalls. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Florida edition What its natural habitat tells you

19
Modest

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

Profile 94%

Height
2–4 feet
Spread
2–3 feet
Light
Dappled sunlight, Deep shade, Partial shade
Soil moisture
Usually 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
Bloom
June to September

Not yet recorded · Leaves

Recorded in 45 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 2

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.

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. 101 animals.

All wildlife of Florida

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

1CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including FL

Genus host records with ranges including FL · 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 6a–10b
Soil pH
Acidic to neutral
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

Southern Wood Fern; Southern Woodfern

Conservation status

Florida rankS4
Global rankG5
FL statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

In your garden

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Sources