Fortune's Holly-fern
Cyrtomium fortunei
In the Carolinas and Georgia, found in roadside banks, rock outcrops, old mortar of brick or stone walls. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition What its natural habitat tells you
Not native to Louisiana. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 76%
- Height
- 1–2 feet
- Spread
- 1–1.5 feet
- Light
- Dappled sunlight, Deep shade, Partial shade
- Soil moisture
- Dry to moist
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At a glance
- Life cycle
- Perennial
- Leaves
- Evergreen
Recorded in 3 Louisiana parishes.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.
Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground
Ground opened by people: roadsides, old fields, pastures, fencerows and lots.
Cliffs, ledges and rocky summits
Cliffs, ledges, rock outcrops, talus and rocky summits where the source does not name the rock. A named rock files the place under its own glade or outcrop type instead.
Who uses this plant?
5CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including LA
Genus host records with ranges including LA · Polystichum
- Callopistria floridensisFlorida Fern Caterpillar
- Decantha boreasellaReticulated Decantha Moth
- Herpetogramma aeglealisSerpentine Webworm
- Phlogophora periculosaBrown Angle Shades
- Herpetogramma sphingealis
—BeesSoutheastern regional records
—Specialist beesPollen specialists
2BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim
Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Polystichum
- Bonasa umbellusRuffed Grouse
- Lagopus lagopusWillow Ptarmigan
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
Plant details
- Family
- Dryopteridaceae
- Hardiness
- Zones 6a–9b
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Hardiness · “Zones 6a–9b” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Height · “1–2 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Leaves · “Evergreen” · 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
- Soil · “Dry; Moist (documented habitat)” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
- Spread · “1–1.5 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
Also known as
Asiatic Holly Fern; Fortune's Holly fern; Fortunes Net Veined Holly Fern; Polystichum fortunei; fern
Conservation status
| Louisiana rank | SNA |
|---|---|
| Global rank | GNR |
| LA status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
Sources
- NatureServe Explorer
- USDA PLANTS
- Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025)
- Louisiana occurrence source
- 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