Kunth's Maiden Fern

Thelypteris kunthii occasionally hybridizes with T . augescens and T . ovata in Florida; hybrids with T . hispidula may also occur.

Stems short- to long-creeping, 4--8 mm diam. Leaves monomorphic, evergreen, up to 2(--3) cm apart, (15--)50--160 cm. Petiole straw-colored, (5--)20--80 × (1--)3--6 mm, at base with brown, linear-lanceolate, hairy scales. Blade (9--)30--80 cm, broadest at base, gradually tapered to pinnatifid apex. Pinnae (2--)8--15(--20) × (0.6--)1--2.5 cm, incised 3/5--4/5 of width; segments oblong, rounded to acute at apex; proximal pair of veins from adjacent segments running to sinus, or nearly so. Indument abaxially of hairs mostly 0.3--1 mm on costae, veins, and blade tissue; veins adaxially with similar hairs but blade tissue usually without hairs, often with scattered yellowish, stalked glands 0.1 mm. Sori round, medial to supramedial; indusia tan, hairy, hairs 0.2--0.4 mm; sporangial glands obscure, yellowish, stalked, arising from sporangial stalks. 2 n = 144.

Ala., Ark., Fla., Ga., La., Miss., S.C., Tex.; e,s Mexico; West Indies; Bermuda; Central America to Costa Rica; South America from Colombia to n Brazil.

Roadsides, ditches, riverbanks, woodlands, limestone sinks; 0--100m.

Nephrodium kunthii Desvaux, Mém. Soc. Linn. Paris 6: 258. 1827; Christella normalis (C. Christensen) Holttum; Dryopteris normalis C. Christensen; Thelypteris macrorhizoma R. P. St. John; T. normalis (C. Christensen) Moxley; T. saxatilis R. P. St. John; T. unca R. P. St. John

Christella normalis, synonym Thelypteris kunthii, sometimes known as Kunth's maiden fern or southern shield fern, is the most common of the maiden ferns in the southeastern United States south of the fall line. It ranges westward to eastern Texas. It usually grows in moist to dry terrestrial situations, but can also be epipetric. It often grows as a greenhouse escape in areas north of its usual range.