Maine Biota Project
Ferns, Horsetails, and Scouring Rushes of Maine
(Kingdom Plantae, Monilophytes)
Below is a working list of Maine’s ferns, horsetails, and scouring rushes. Taxonomy and nomenclature follow Flora Novae Angliae by Arthur Haines (2011, Yale University Press, ISBN 978-0-300-17154-9). For more information about a particular species, click on the link under the heading “Common Name”, and you will be taken to a page for the family that includes that species.
Family |
Genus |
Species |
Authority |
Sub-species |
Authority |
Common Name |
Notes |
Aspleniaceae |
Asplenium |
platyneuron |
(L.) Britton |
|
|
mountain spleenwort |
|
Aspleniaceae |
Asplenium |
rhizophyllum |
L. |
|
|
walking spleenwort |
|
Aspleniaceae |
Asplenium |
trichomanes |
L. |
ssp. trichomanes |
  |
maidenhair spleenwort |
|
Aspleniaceae |
Asplenium |
viride |
Huds. |
|
|
green spleenwort |
|
Blechnaceae |
Woodwardia |
aereolata |
(L.) T. Moore |
  |
  |
netted chain fern |
|
Blechnaceae |
Woodwardia |
virginica |
(L.) Smith |
  |
  |
Virginia chain fern |
|
Dennstaedtiaceae |
Dennstaedtia |
punctilobula |
(Michx.) T. Moore |
  |
  |
eastern hay-scented fern |
|
Dennstaedtiaceae |
Pteridium |
aquilinum |
(L.) Kuhn |
ssp. latiusculum |
(Desv.) Hultén |
bracken fern |
|
Dryopteridaceae |
Dryopteris |
campyloptera |
(Kunze) Clarkson |
  |
  |
mountain wood fern |
|
Dryopteridaceae |
Dryopteris |
carthusiana |
(Vill.) H. P. Fuchs |
  |
  |
spinulose wood fern |
|
Dryopteridaceae |
Dryopteris |
clintoniana |
(D. C. Eat.) Dowell |
  |
  |
Clinton’s wood fern |
|
Dryopteridaceae |
Dryopteris |
cristata |
(L.) Gray |
  |
  |
crested wood fern |
|
Dryopteridaceae |
Dryopteris |
filix-mas |
(L.) Schott |
ssp. brittonii |
Fras.-Jenk. & Widen |
Clinton’s wood fern |
|
Dryopteridaceae |
Dryopteris |
fragrans |
(L.) Schott |
  |
  |
fragrant wood fern |
|
Dryopteridaceae |
Dryopteris |
goldiana |
(Hook. ex Goldie) Gray |
  |
  |
Goldie’s wood fern |
|
Dryopteridaceae |
Dryopteris |
intermedia |
(Muhl. ex Willd.) Gray |
  |
  |
evergreen wood fern |
|
Dryopteridaceae |
Dryopteris |
marginalis |
(L.) Gray |
  |
  |
marginal wood fern |
|
Dryopteridaceae |
Polystichum |
acrostichoides |
(Michx.) Schott |
  |
  |
Christmas fern |
|
Dryopteridaceae |
Polystichum |
braunii |
(Spenner) Fée |
  |
  |
Braun’s holly fern |
|
Equisetaceae |
Equisetum |
arvense |
L. |
  |
  |
field horsetail |
|
Equisetaceae |
Equisetum |
fluviatile |
L. |
  |
  |
river horsetail |
|
Equisetaceae |
Equisetum |
hyemale |
L. |
ssp. affine |
(Engelm.) Calder & Taylor |
tall scouring rush |
|
Equisetaceae |
Equisetum |
palustre |
L. |
|
|
marsh horsetail |
|
Equisetaceae |
Equisetum |
pratense |
Ehrh. |
|
|
meadow horsetail |
|
Equisetaceae |
Equisetum |
scirpoides |
Michx. |
|
|
dwarf scouring-rush |
|
Equisetaceae |
Equisetum |
sylvaticum |
L. |
  |
  |
wood horsetail |
|
Equisetaceae |
Equisetum |
variegatum |
Schleicher ex F. Weber & D. Mohr |
ssp. variegatum |
|
variegated scouring-rush |
|
Marsileaceae |
Marsilea |
quadrifolia |
L. |
|
|
European water-clover |
|
Onocleaceae |
Matteuccia |
struthiopteris |
(L) Todaro |
ssp. pensylvanica |
(Willd.) A. & D. Love |
fiddlehead fern |
|
Onocleaceae |
Onoclea |
sensibilis |
L. |
  |
  |
sensitive fern |
|
Ophioglossaceae |
Botrychium |
angustisegmentum |
(Pease & Moore) Fern. |
  |
  |
narrow triangle moonwort |
|
Ophioglossaceae |
Botrychium |
dissectum |
Spreng. |
  |
  |
dissected grapefern |
|
Ophioglossaceae |
Botrychium |
lunaria |
(L.) Sw. |
  |
  |
common moonwort |
|
Ophioglossaceae |
Botrychium |
matricariifolium |
(Doll) A. Braun ex Koch |
  |
  |
dissected grapefern |
|
Ophioglossaceae |
Botrychium |
minganense |
Victorin |
  |
  |
Mingan moonwort |
|
Ophioglossaceae |
Botrychium |
multifidum |
(Gmel.) Rupr. |
  |
  |
leathery grapefern |
|
Ophioglossaceae |
Botrychium |
oneidense |
(Gilbert) House |
  |
  |
blunt-lobed grapefern |
|
Ophioglossaceae |
Botrychium |
pallidum |
W. H. Wagner |
  |
  |
pale moonwort |
|
Ophioglossaceae |
Botrychium |
simplex |
E. Hitchc. |
  |
  |
least moonwort |
|
Ophioglossaceae |
Botrychium |
tenebrosum |
A. A. Eat. |
  |
  |
swamp moonwort |
|
Ophioglossaceae |
Botrychium |
virginianum |
(L.) Sw. |
  |
  |
rattlesnake fern |
|
Ophioglossaceae |
Ophioglossum |
pusillum |
Raf. |
  |
  |
northern adder’s-tongue fern |
|
Osmundaceae |
Osmunda |
claytoniana |
L. |
  |
  |
interrupted fern |
|
Osmundaceae |
Osmunda |
regalis |
L. |
var. spectabilis |
(Willd.) Gray |
royal fern |
|
Osmundaceae |
Osmundastrum |
cinnamomeum |
(L.) C. Presl |
  |
  |
cinnamon fern |
|
Polypodiaceae |
Polypodium |
appalachianum |
Haufler & Windham |
  |
  |
Appalachian polypody |
|
Polypodiaceae |
Polypodium |
virginianum |
L. |
  |
  |
rock polypody |
|
Pteridaceae |
Adiantum |
aleuticum |
(Rupr.) Paris |
  |
  |
western maidenhair fern |
|
Pteridaceae |
Adiantum |
pedatum |
L. |
  |
  |
northern maidenhair fern |
|
Pteridaceae |
Adiantum |
viridimontanum |
Paris |
  |
  |
Green Mountain maidenhair fern |
|
Pteridaceae |
Cryptogramma |
stelleri |
(Gmel.) Prantl |
  |
  |
slender rock-brake |
|
Thelypteridaceae |
Parathelypteris |
noveboracensis |
(L.) Ching |
  |
  |
New York fern |
|
Thelypteridaceae |
Parathelypteris |
simulata |
(Davenport) Holttum |
  |
  |
Massachusetts fern |
|
Thelypteridaceae |
Phegopteris |
connectilis |
(Michx.) Watt |
  |
  |
long beech fern |
|
Thelypteridaceae |
Phegopteris |
hexagonoptera |
(Michx.) Fée |
  |
  |
broad beech fern |
|
Thelypteridaceae |
Thelypteris |
palustris |
Schott |
var. pubescens |
(Lawson) Fern. |
marsh fern |
|
Woodsiaceae |
Athyrium |
angustum |
(Willd.) C. Presl |
  |
  |
narrow lady fern |
|
Woodsiaceae |
Cystopteris |
bulbifera |
(L.) Bernh. |
  |
  |
bulbil fragile fern |
|
Woodsiaceae |
Cystopteris |
fragilis |
(L.) Bernh. |
  |
  |
fragile fern |
|
Woodsiaceae |
Cystopteris |
tenuis |
(Michx.) Desv. |
  |
  |
Mackay’s fragile fern |
|
Woodsiaceae |
Deparia |
acrostichoides |
(Sw.) M. Kato |
  |
  |
silvery false spleenwort |
|
Woodsiaceae |
Gymnocarpium |
dryopteris |
(L.) Newman |
  |
  |
northern oak fern |
|
Woodsiaceae |
Woodsia |
alpina |
(Bolton) S. F. Gray |
  |
  |
northern rusty cliff fern |
|
Woodsiaceae |
Woodsia |
glabella |
R. Br. ex Richards. |
  |
  |
smooth cliff fern |
|
Woodsiaceae |
Woodsia |
ilvensis |
(L.) R. Br. |
  |
  |
rusty cliff fern |
|
Woodsiaceae |
Woodsia |
obtusa |
(Spreng.) Torr. |
ssp. obtusa |
  |
blunt-lobed cliff fern |
|
Thank you to Kevin Stone for their contributions to this page.