Dixie Wood-fern
Dryopteris australis
In the Carolinas and Georgia, found in swamps, bottomlands, moist forests, spring runs. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition What its natural habitat tells you
Native to Louisiana. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 82%
- Height
- 4–5 feet
- Spread
- 2–3 feet
- Light
- Dappled sunlight, Deep shade, 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?No photograph yet. Looking for an old drawing…
At a glance
- Life cycle
- Perennial
- Leaves
- Deciduous or semi-evergreen
Recorded in 2 Louisiana parishes.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.
Forested wetlands with standing water much of the year, such as cypress and gum swamps.
Floodplain and bottomland forests
Forests on low ground beside rivers and streams that flood from time to time.
Forests on moist but not wet ground, such as rich slopes and ravines.
Places where groundwater keeps the soil or rock wet, such as seepage slopes and spring runs.
Who uses this plant?
1CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including LA
Genus host records with ranges including LA · Dryopteris
- Fagitana litteraMarsh Fern Moth
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
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
Plant details
- Family
- Dryopteridaceae
- Hardiness
- Zones 5a–9b
- Soil pH
- Acidic
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Hardiness · “Zones 5a–9b” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Height · “4–5 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Leaves · “Deciduous or semi-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 · “Moist; Occasionally dry; Occasionally wet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Soil pH · “Acidic” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Spread · “2–3 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
Also known as
Dixie Wood fern; Dryopteris x australis; Dryopteris × australis
Conservation status
| Louisiana rank | SH |
|---|---|
| Global rank | GNR |
| LA 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
- Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), South Central edition
- Vascular Plants of North Carolina (NC Natural Heritage Program)
- NatureServe Explorer
- 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