Thelypteris palustris
Deciduous, marsh-dwelling fern with long-creeping rhizomatous growth that forms dense colonies across North America, Europe, and Asia in moist wetlands.
Common Names
Marsh Fern, Eastern Marsh Fern, Meadow Fern, Ground Fern, Northern Marsh Fern, Marsh Buckler Fern, Marsh Shield Fern
Summary
Marsh Fern (Thelypteris palustris) is native to eastern North America and Eurasia, grows as a deciduous, rhizomatous fern that forms dense colonies via creeping rhizomes, features erect, light-green fronds up to about 60 cm long with a finely divided pinnate-pinnatifid blade, and its habitat includes sunny wetland areas such as marshes, fens, and shores, it is a non-clumping ground cover and can serve as the host plant for the marsh fern moth, sources describe cultivation in moist to wet soils with full sun to partial shade, tolerating sandy acidic soils but not excessive standing water, it is hardy in USDA zones 5–10, deer resistant, and low maintenance, landscape uses include cottage gardens, bog gardens, rain gardens, and planting along ponds or streams as well as woodland edges, where creeping rhizomes provide naturalized ground cover.
Lifecycle
Perennial
Height
17.5-27.5 inches
Spread
12-36 inches
Hardiness Zones
Zones 2-10
Sunlight Requirements
Ideally Full Sun to Partial Shade. Tolerates Full Sun and Full Shade.
Soil Type
Moist to wet soils, preferably loamy or peat soils in wetlands.
Soil Drainage
Poorly drained, wet soils
Soil pH
5–7, Slightly acidic to neutral, No single ideal, adaptable to different pH levels
Bloom Color
Green
Bloom Time
Non-Flowering — it does not bloom in any season.
Foliage Color
Green
Fall Foliage Color
Green
Leaf Lifecycle
Deciduous
Growth Rate
Moderate
Seasons of Interest
Spring, Summer, and Fall.
Propagation Methods
Spores, Division (via creeping rhizomes)
Attracts Wildlife
Attracts birds
Taxonomy
- Taxonomic Rank
- Species
- Author
- Schott
- Publication
- Gen. Fil. [Schott] ad t.10. 1834
Superior Taxa
- Kingdom
- Plantae
- Subkingdom
- Pteridobiotina
- Phylum
- Polypodiophyta
- Class
- Polypodiopsida
- Subclass
- Polypodiidae
- Order
- Polypodiales
- Family
- Thelypteridaceae
- Subfamily
- Thelypteridoideae
- Genus
- Thelypteris
Inferior Taxa
Thelypteris palustris subsp. palustris Thelypteris palustris subsp. pubescens
Synonyms
Hemestheum thelypteris Filix-mas thelypteris Thelypteris thelypteris Polypodium thelypteris Acrostichum thelypteris Polystichum thelypteris Aspidium thelypteris Aspidium palustre Nephrodium thelypteris Dryopteris thelypteris Lastrea thelypteris Filix thelypteris Athyrium thelypteris