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Sensitive Fern

Onoclea sensibilis

Found in marshes, swamps, bottomland forests, ditches, wet disturbed places. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Northern Tier edition What its natural habitat tells you

26
Good

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

Profile 100%

Height
1–2 feet
Spread
2–3 feet
Light
Dappled sunlight, Full sun, 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?

At a glance

Life cycle
Perennial
Leaves
Deciduous
Bloom
May to June

Recorded in 101 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 5

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.

Freshwater marshes

Open, herb-covered wetlands with fresh, non-tidal water.

Floodplain and bottomland forests

Forests on low ground beside rivers and streams that flood from time to time.

Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground

Ground opened by people: roadsides, old fields, pastures, fencerows and lots.

Disturbed and introduced wetlands

Wet ground taken over by weedy or introduced plants after disturbance, such as common reed, Chinese tallow or tamarisk stands; the upland counterpart is roadsides, fields and disturbed ground.

All habitats

Also found with this plant

Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Virginia. Shared habitat, not food. 147 animals.

All wildlife of Virginia

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

6CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including VA

Genus host records with ranges including VA · Onoclea

  • Callopistria cordataSilver-Spotted Fern Moth
  • Callopistria floridensisFlorida Fern Caterpillar
  • Orthodes majusculaRustic Quaker, Rustic Groundcat
  • Papaipema inquaesitaSensitive Border Moth, Sensitive Fern Borer
  • Phlogophora irisOlive Angle Shades
  • Herpetogramma theseusalis
Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
0BeesSoutheastern regional records
0Specialist beesPollen specialists
—BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim

No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects

Growing and identification

Plant details

Family
Onocleaceae
Hardiness
Zones 2a–10b
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

Conservation status

Virginia rankS5
Global rankG5
VA statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

In your garden

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Sources