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Goldie's Wood-fern

Dryopteris goldieana

Found in boulderfield forests, rich cove forests, seepage swamps, especially over calcareous sedimentary or mafic metamorphic or igneous rocks. FloraQuest, phone app (app page) What its natural habitat tells you

25
Good

Native to Virginia. How scores work Is it native here?

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Height
3–4 feet
Spread
3–6 feet
Light
Dappled sunlight, Deep shade, Partial shade
Soil moisture
Usually moist

Space about 4.5 ft apart from its recorded spread, about 5 per 100 sq ft. Enter your bed size for a count

Will it fit your yard?

At a glance

Life cycle
Perennial
Leaves
Deciduous
Bloom
June to September

Recorded in 42 Virginia counties.

Natural habitats

Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.

1 of 4

Northern hardwood forests

Frozen northern hardwood forest, Baxter Creek Trail
Northern hardwood forest in winter. Shown: Baxter Creek Trail near Mount Sterling, Haywood County, North Carolina, a neighboring state.Frozen northern hardwood forest, Baxter Creek Trail, Brian Stansberry, undated. CC BY 3.0. Source record.

Rich cove forests

Cove hardwood forest
Regional / representative. Shown: Great Smoky Mountains National Park, North Carolina and Tennessee; representative habitat composite, not a documented exact viewpoint, a neighboring state.Cove hardwood forest, Hynes, Robert 'Bob', by 2012. Public domain. Source record.

Seeps and springs

Weymouth Woods Gum Swamp Trail seep
Groundwater seep. Shown: Gum Swamp Trail, Weymouth Woods, North Carolina, a neighboring state.Weymouth Woods Gum Swamp Trail seep, ncwetlands.org, undated. CC BY 2.0. Source record.

Swamps

View, Dismal Swamp, North Carolina
Named place / source context. Shown: Great Dismal Swamp, North Carolina, as titled by Museum of Fine Arts Boston; nineteenth-century artistic interpretation, a neighboring state.View, Dismal Swamp, North Carolina, Regis Francois Gignoux, 1850. Public domain. Source record.

All habitats

Also found with this plant

Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Virginia. Shared habitat, not food. 110 animals.

All wildlife of Virginia

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

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
Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
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
Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)

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

Growing and identification

Plant details

Family
Dryopteridaceae
Hardiness
Zones 3a–8b
Soil pH
Acidic
Flower color
Not applicable

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

Growing sources and scope
  • Bloom · “June to September” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
  • Flower color · “Not applicable” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
  • Hardiness · “Zones 3a–8b” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finder differs)
  • Height · “3–4 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Minnesota Wildflowers differs)
  • Leaves · “Deciduous” · 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 (ranked first; Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finder differ)
  • Soil · “Moist; Occasionally wet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finder differ)
  • Soil pH · “Acidic” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center differs)
  • Spread · “3–6 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finder differs)
Also known as

Dryopteris goldiana; Goldie's Wood fern; Goldies Wood Fern

Conservation status

Virginia rankS4
Global rankG5
VA statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

In your garden

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Sources