Clinton's Wood Fern, Broad Swamp Fern
Dryopteris clintoniana
Found in acid seepages, swampy forests, red maple swamps. FloraQuest, phone app (app page) What its natural habitat tells you
Native to Virginia. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 47%
- Soil moisture
- Average to wet
No photograph yet. Looking for an old drawing…
At a glance
Not yet recorded · Height · Spread · Light · Life cycle · Leaves · Bloom
This plant is missing most of its facts, so Quercus is looking them up in old botany books.
Recorded in 4 Virginia counties.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement.
Habitats
Seeps and springs; forests and woodlands; swamps.
Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there. All habitats
Who uses this plant?
3CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including VA
Genus host records with ranges including VA · Dryopteris
- Fagitana litteraMarsh Fern Moth
- Gueneria similariaGhostly Fern Moth
- Korscheltellus gracilisConifer Swift Moth, Graceful Ghost 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
- Family not recorded
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Conservation status
| Virginia rank | SH |
|---|---|
| Global rank | G5 |
| VA 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
- Virginia DCR Natural Heritage rare plant list
- Digital Atlas of the Virginia Flora
- USDA PLANTS
- NatureServe Explorer
- 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