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Royal Fern

Osmunda spectabilis

Found in bogs, marshes (including tidal), moist forests, floodplains, wet meadows, swamp forests, ditches, and other wetlands. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Northern Tier edition What its natural habitat tells you

30
Good

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

Profile 100%

Height
About 4.5 feet
Spread
2–3 feet
Light
Partial sun
Soil moisture
Average to wet

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
Biennial
Bloom
March to June
Fruiting season
Spring to summer

Not yet recorded · Leaves

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 6

Moist forests

Shortia beneath rhododendrons in mountain woodland
Regional / representative. Shown: Mountains of North and South Carolina; exact site not identified, a neighboring state.Shortia beneath rhododendrons in mountain woodland, Marian Ellis Rowan, 1901. Public domain. 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.

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.

Wet meadows

Open, wet, grassy or sedgy ground that is not a bog.

Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground

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

All habitats

Also found with this plant

Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Virginia. Shared habitat, not food. 204 animals.

All wildlife of Virginia

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

8CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including VA

Genus host records with ranges including VA · Osmunda

  • Euplexia benesimilisAmerican Angle Shades
  • Fagitana litteraMarsh Fern Moth
  • Herpetogramma aeglealisSerpentine Webworm
  • Melanchra assimilisBlack Arches
  • Olethreutes osmundanaFern Olethreutes
  • Pandemis limitataThree-Lined Leafroller Moth
  • Papaipema speciosissimaOsmunda Borer
  • 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
Osmundaceae
Flower color
Non-flowering
Growth rate
Rapid
Growth habit
Spreads by rhizomes
Foliage color
Green
Fruit begins
Spring
Fruit ends
Summer

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

Growing sources and scope
Also known as

American Royal Fern; Osmunda regalis

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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Check this plant against your county, sun and soil moisture. Conditions are checked in your browser.

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How to check your spot

Growing cautions

  • Spreads by rhizomes. USDA PLANTS lists its growth form as rhizomatous. USDA PLANTS

For planning only; these do not change the score or Fit.

Sources