Sword Fern
Nephrolepis exaltata
Native to Florida. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 24%
Will it fit your yard?No photograph yet. Looking for an old drawing…
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 37 Florida counties.
Also found with this plant
Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Florida. Shared habitat, not food. 129 animals.
- Mourning DoveZenaida macroura
- Nelson's Sharp-tailed SparrowAmmodramus nelsoni
- Northern CardinalCardinalis cardinalis
- Northern FlickerColaptes auratus
- Northern MockingbirdMimus polyglottos
- Northern PintailAnas acuta
- Northern WaterthrushSeiurus noveboracensis
- Peregrine FalconFalco peregrinus
- Pied-billed GrebePodilymbus podiceps
- Red-bellied WoodpeckerMelanerpes carolinus
- Red-headed WoodpeckerMelanerpes erythrocephalus
- Ruby-crowned KingletRegulus calendula
- Ruby-throated HummingbirdArchilochus colubris
- Ruddy DuckOxyura jamaicensis
- Savannah SparrowPasserculus sandwichensis
- Semipalmated PloverCharadrius semipalmatus
- Short-eared OwlAsio flammeus
- Short-tailed HawkButeo brachyurus
- SoraPorzana carolina
- Surf ScoterMelanitta perspicillata
- Swainson's WarblerLimnothlypis swainsonii
- Tree SwallowTachycineta bicolor
- Tufted TitmouseBaeolophus bicolor
- Virginia RailRallus limicola
Who uses this plant?
1CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including FL
Genus host records with ranges including FL · Nephrolepis
- Callopistria floridensisFlorida Fern Caterpillar
0BeesSoutheastern regional records
0Specialist beesPollen specialists
—BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claimNo records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects
Plant details
- Family
- Nephrolepidaceae
What its natural habitat tells you
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Conservation status
| Florida rank | SNR |
|---|---|
| Global rank | Not available |
| FL 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
- Atlas of Florida Plants
- 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