Winter Ferns 2025-2026

Climbing Ferns

Even though it is not officially winter yet, the amount of snow on the ground is enough for me to start the Winter Ferns series, and this is one of my favorites. It is called the Climbing Fern (Lygodium palmatum). It is not common in our area. We only know two sites, but at one of them they are very abundant, climbing over all the woody vegetation!

Although this fern looks delicate, the sterile "leaves" (pinnae) stay green all winter. It is a beautiful find and is impossible to mistake for a different fern! It grows like a vine, and may have only one "frond" consisting of a long rachis with many long "branches" that extend a long ways out from the original plant. The palmately shaped evergreen "leaves" are sterile. The fertile ones are much smaller, and grow above the sterile ones in season.

It is the only native species of this family (Lygodiaceae or Climbing Fern) in America and is only found in the eastern states.

It is also called the "Hartford Fern" because it was the first plant protected by law in the United States, which happened in Connecticut in 1869. According to Go Botany, it is considered uncommon but present in all counties in MA. It grows best in wet, sunny areas.

Posted: to PV Fern News on Sun, Dec 7, 2025
Updated: Sun, Dec 7, 2025