Fall Ferns 2025
More Ghost Ferns
I could not resist posting one of my photos of the ghostly beautiful Broad Beech Fern (Phegopteris hexagonoptera) this season, and thought it would be nice for you to see the Broad Beech photo next to the Narrow (or Long) Beech (Phegopteris connectilis) posted last month in the News section of our website. The Broad Beech is a much larger and broader frond, and has a distinctive characteristic of the rachis being winged just above the bottom pinnae. The bottom pinnae of the Broad Beech are much wider and broader than the Narrow Beech and often look like a handlebar mustache to me. The bottom pinnae of the Narrow Beech are narrow and point downward.
The Broad Beech fronds are the best Ghost ferns, because they hold their shape well for a long time and are often a strong pure white instead of just pale or yellowish color like many other Ghost ferns. To aid those who are interested in learning how to identify Ghost Ferns, I have created 4 pages of labeled photos of Ghost Ferns Randy and I have photographed. I must warn you, if you are interested in identifying Ghost Ferns, you are on your way to becoming a member of my Dead Fern Society! You can find the photo pages on our PVFS website under Downloads, Fern Photos Selection. I will try to attach or link the first page to this news article, as an example.
This is also a reminder that our last Fern Hike of the season will be the Friday after Thanksgiving, November 28th, from 1-3 PM. We will meet at the Mount Toby parking lot on Reservation Rd in Sunderland. The route includes parts of the Robert Frost and Caves Trail, which have some up and down hills. Bring hiking poles if you sometimes use them. For more details, see the calendar listing on our website.
Attached File:
Posted: to PV Fern News on Sun, Nov 16, 2025
Updated: Sun, Nov 16, 2025
