Rusty Cliff Fern
Woodsia ilvensis
Found in cliffs of amphibolite, greenstone, other rocks. FloraQuest, phone app (app page) What its natural habitat tells you
Native to Virginia. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 76%
- Height
- 2–10 inches
- Light
- Partial shade, Full shade, Full sun
- Soil moisture
- Dry to moist
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At a glance
- Life cycle
- Perennial
- Leaves
- Evergreen
- Bloom
- June to September
Not yet recorded · Spread
Recorded in 23 Virginia counties.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.
Glades, barrens and outcrops on mafic or serpentine rock
Open, thin-soil openings, outcrops and cliffs on dark, magnesium- or iron-rich rock such as serpentine, diabase or gabbro.
Also found with this plant
Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Virginia. Shared habitat, not food. 102 animals.
- American KestrelFalco sparverius
- Bank SwallowRiparia riparia
- Chimney SwiftChaetura pelagica
- Common NighthawkChordeiles minor
- Common RavenCorvus corax
- Dark-eyed JuncoJunco hyemalis
- Eastern PhoebeSayornis phoebe
- Eurasian Collared-doveStreptopelia decaocto
- European StarlingSturnus vulgaris
- Great Horned OwlBubo virginianus
- Mourning DoveZenaida macroura
- Northern Rough-winged SwallowStelgidopteryx serripennis
- Olive-sided FlycatcherContopus cooperi
- Red-tailed HawkButeo jamaicensis
- Sharp-shinned HawkAccipiter striatus
- Turkey VultureCathartes aura
- American CrowCorvus brachyrhynchos
- Bald EagleHaliaeetus leucocephalus
- Belted KingfisherMegaceryle alcyon
- Eastern BluebirdSialia sialis
- Eastern KingbirdTyrannus tyrannus
- Golden EagleAquila chrysaetos
- Peregrine FalconFalco peregrinus
- Rock PigeonColumba livia
Who uses this plant?
No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects
Plant details
- Family
- Woodsiaceae
- 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
- Height · “2–10 inches” · Minnesota Wildflowers
- Leaves · “Evergreen” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Life cycle · “Perennial” · Minnesota Wildflowers
- Light · “Partial shade; Full shade; Full sun (documented habitat)” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
- Soil · “Dry; Moist (documented habitat)” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
- Soil pH · “Acidic” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
Conservation status
| Virginia rank | S4 |
|---|---|
| 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
- Digital Atlas of the Virginia Flora
- USDA PLANTS
- Vascular Plants of North Carolina (NC Natural Heritage Program)
- FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Weakley), phone app (app page)
- FloraQuest: Northern Tier (Weakley), phone app (app page)
- 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

























