Winter Ferns 2025-2026

Walking Fern

I thought I would get in one more Winter Fern, before Spring starts tomorrow. It has been a tough winter for ferning, with even the evergreen ferns buried under ice and snow most of the time. The clubmosses were in hiding too. Now they are pretty much all visible again, but they seem to be a little behind schedule for new growth and signs of fiddleheads, not surprising with the cold and often cloudy weather.

The last Winter Fern for 2025-2026 is the Walking Fern (Asplenium rhizophyllum). It is part of the Aspleniaceae family, probably my favorite because of all the beautiful and unusual shaped ferns. These include Ebony Spleenwort, Maidenhair Spleenwort & Wall-Rue in our area, and Mountain Spleenwort, which we have seen in CT. Their name comes from the way they often "walk" by elongated tips which may root in the moss and form new little plantlets. You can see some of these elongated tips in this photo, along with the brick-red sori in a scattered pattern on the back of the fertile frond.

The Walking Fern is usually found on mossy basic rock faces in shaded moist areas. Go Botany describes the Walking Fern as "fairly widespread" in MA & VT, but rare in NH and RI. Chadde (Northeast Ferns, second edition) shows them as present in the four western counties and MIddlesex county in MA. They are always a treat to find.

Happy Spring! Start of Fiddlehead season! Our first two public Fern Walks are on the calendar. They are April 26th and May 10th. We hope to see you at one of them!

Posted: to PV Fern News on Thu, Mar 19, 2026
Updated: Thu, Mar 19, 2026