Summer Ferns 2025
Leathery Grape Ferns
Despite the stifling heat and so little rain, most ferns are in their glory now. The Narrow Beech and Broad Beech ferns are especially beautiful, but so are many other species!
Randy and I have been spending a lot of time searching for the new grape ferns in the last few weeks. They just started growing new fronds in August. One of the places to look for them is in old cemeteries which do not get mown in July onward. The most likely grape ferns to find there are Dissected (or Cut-leaf) Grape Ferns (Sceptridium dissectum). Less common but supposedly also present are the Leathery Grape Ferns (Sceptridium multifidum). We have been looking for them for a few years around here, but only know a good place to see the Leathery Grape Ferns in VT. We drove up last week so we could see them in their early stages, to try to figure out the important characteristics to look for to differentiate the Leathery from the Dissected when they are young.
This photo from last week is an example of how dense and stout the Leathery Grape Ferns can be. Very impressive! It is only a few inches tall, but very full with a stout stem. You can see how tightly packed the sterile leaf and sporophore are, and can imagine how wide they will be when they grow out. This is a well established population and the ferns are obviously Leathery Grape Ferns. Some of the very young grape ferns we have been seeing in cemeteries around here might be tinier versions of these. They certainly don't look like this! We are monitoring them to see how they develop, hoping they don't all get mowed down before they mature. The Dissected Grape Ferns are usually more delicate, with slimmer stems and fronds that are not nearly as large as the Leathery. The Leathery Grape Fern sterile fronds can be wider than our hands, with the sporophores as wide and tall.
A reminder for our Fern Walk this Sunday in Gill, for those who would like an easy hike and a refresher on the most common of our native ferns. I have added directions to the Calendar listing. We will meet at 1 PM at the Mobil Gas Station at the corner of Rt 2 (23 French King Highway) and "Main Rd" in Gill, just across the bridge from Turners Falls, and then drive together to the kiosk and parking area.
Posted: to PV Fern News on Thu, Aug 21, 2025
Updated: Fri, Aug 22, 2025
