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Giant Sword Fern

Nephrolepis biserrata

Found in dome swamps, strand swamps, wet hammocks, rockland hammocks, disturbed suburban areas. FloraQuest, phone app (app page) What its natural habitat tells you

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Not scored

Native status: sources disagree. How scores work Is it native here?

Profile 6%

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At a glance

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

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

Recorded in 11 Florida counties.

Natural habitats

Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement.

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.
Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

1CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including FL

Genus host records with ranges including FL · Nephrolepis

  • Callopistria floridensisFlorida Fern Caterpillar
Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
—BeesSoutheastern regional records
—Specialist beesPollen specialists
—BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim
Growing and identification

Plant details

Family
Nephrolepidaceae

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

Conservation status

Florida rankS3
Global rankNot available
FL statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source

In your garden

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How to check your spot

Sources