''Coryphopteris simulata'', synonym ''Thelypteris simulata'', is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

fern A fern (Polypodiopsida or Polypodiophyta ) is a member of a group of vascular plants (plants with xylem and phloem) that reproduce via spores and have neither seeds nor flowers. The polypodiophytes include all living pteridophytes exce ...

native to the Northeastern United States. It is known by two common names: bog-fern and Massachusetts fern. It is often confused with the silvery spleenwort, New York fern, and the

marsh fern ''Thelypteris palustris'', the marsh fern, or eastern marsh fern, is a species of fern native to eastern North America and across Eurasia Eurasia (, ) is the largest continental area on Earth, comprising all of Europe and Asia. Primarily ...

due to similarities in shape and size.

Description

''Coryphopteris simulata'' is bright green in color. The frond has some variation in shape, but it is around 61 cm (24 in) long, and its stalk is long and slender at 20.3 cm (8 in). The stalks are thin and slightly scaly, or hairy. The upwards portion is yellow-green in color, and the base is a light brown color. The leaves are monomorphic and pinnately compounded; they can be between 10–40 cm (3.9-15.7 in) long and 7.6-15.3 cm (3–6 in) wide. The branching pattern appears to be opposite, but upon close observation it is clearly a slight alternate pattern. The leaf veins are for the most part unbranched, although some branching can be seen towards the lower part of the blade. BB-0039 Dryopteris simulata

''Coryphopteris simulata'' produces both fertile and sterile leaflets. The leaflets are twice-compounded and divided mid-vein into between fifteen to eighteen lobes. They are oblong in shape and become narrower near the axis, noticeably more so near the base. The majority of the leaflets are erect, but the bottom pair point downward. They are around 25–80 cm (9.8-31.5 in) long. The fertile and sterile leaflets are similar in shape in size, but the fertile leaflets tend to be slightly longer than the sterile leaflets. Sori (singular

sorus A sorus (pl. sori) is a cluster of sporangia (structures producing and containing spores) in ferns and fungi. A coenosorus (plural coenosori) is a compound sorus composed of multiple, fused sori. Etymology This New Latin word is from Ancient Gr ...

), are found on the underside of the leaflets, and they are round in shape. The indusium is a pale tan color and is shaped like a kidney. The rhizome is slender and black with some scales. It spreads out far and has a lot of branching. Older roots are short, black, thin, and wiry. There are many young, hairlike rootlets.

Growth

''Coryphopteris simulata'' is a

forb A forb or phorb is an herbaceous flowering plant that is not a graminoid (grass, sedge, or rush). The term is used in biology and in vegetation ecology, especially in relation to grasslands and understory. Typically these are dicots without woo ...

/ herb

perennial A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wid ...

. The shoot system sprouts up from a rhizome, which is typically an underground root, but is sometimes found at the ground level. The leaves die and fall off during the wintertime. Spores are produced in the summertime.

Taxonomy

The species was first described by George Edward Davenport in 1894 as ''Aspidium simulatum'' (in the same publication he also suggested that "those persons who reject ''Aspidium''" could use the synonym ''Nephrodium simulatum''). Genus boundaries in the family

Thelypteridaceae Thelypteridaceae is a family of about 900 species of ferns in the order Polypodiales. In the Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group classification of 2016 (PPG I), it is placed in the suborder Aspleniineae. Alternatively, the family may be submerged in a ...

have been subject to regular changes; the species has also been placed in ''

Thelypteris ''Thelypteris'' (maiden ferns) is a genus of ferns in the subfamily Thelypteridoideae, family Thelypteridaceae, order Polypodiales. Two radically different circumscriptions of the genus are in use . In the Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group classific ...

'' (1910), ''

Parathelypteris ''Parathelypteris'' is a genus of ferns in the family Thelypteridaceae, subfamily Thelypteridoideae, in the Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group classification of 2016 (PPG I). Other sources sink ''Parathelypteris'' into a very broadly defined genus ''T ...

'' (1976) and more recently ''Coryphopteris'' (2018). , '' Plants of the World Online'' accepted the placement in ''Thelypteris'', while the ''Checklist of Ferns and Lycophytes of the World'' accepted the placement in ''Coryphopteris''. One distinguishing feature is the sweet-smelling fragrance it emits. Since it has similarities to the

, New York fern, and silvery spleenwort, people often fail to notice its existence, and have difficulty distinguishing it from the other similar ferns. There is still some confusion today, as this species is relatively uncommon and its shape can be variable.

Distribution

''Coryphopteris simulata'' is a

terrestrial plant A terrestrial plant is a plant that grows on, in, or from land. Other types of plants are aquatic (living in water), epiphytic (living on trees) and lithophytic (living in or on rocks). The distinction between aquatic and terrestrial plants i ...

native to

Eastern Canada Eastern Canada (also the Eastern provinces or the East) is generally considered to be the region of Canada south of the Hudson Bay/ Strait and east of Manitoba, consisting of the following provinces (from east to west): Newfoundland and Labrado ...

(New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Ontario and Québec), the North-Central United States (Wisconsin), the Northeastern United States (Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont and West Virginia) and the

Southeastern United States The Southeastern United States, also referred to as the American Southeast or simply the Southeast, is a geographical region of the United States. It is located broadly on the eastern portion of the southern United States and the southern por ...

(Alabama, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Maryland, North Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia). The isolated patch discovered in southwestern Wisconsin was far outside its expected distribution. Generally speaking, this plant is uncommon.

Ecology

''Coryphopteris simulata'' grows in shaded, marshy

wetland A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The p ...

s and bog areas such as cedar, spruce,

larch Larches are deciduous conifers in the genus ''Larix'', of the family Pinaceae (subfamily Laricoideae). Growing from tall, they are native to much of the cooler temperate northern hemisphere, on lowlands in the north and high on mountains fur ...

, and sphagnum swamps. It likes to grow among

bryophyte The Bryophyta s.l. are a proposed taxonomic division containing three groups of non-vascular land plants (embryophytes): the liverworts, hornworts and mosses. Bryophyta s.s. consists of the mosses only. They are characteristically limited in s ...

s, which protect the plant from the sun and provide it with a shady area. It prefers and is most often found in moist, acidic

soil Soil, also commonly referred to as earth or dirt Dirt is an unclean matter, especially when in contact with a person's clothes, skin, or possessions. In such cases, they are said to become dirty. Common types of dirt include: * Debri ...

that is soft and spongy.

References

{{Taxonbar, from1=Q81894592, from2=Q15322601, from3=Q38243914 Thelypteridaceae Plants described in 1894 Flora of Eastern Canada Flora of Wisconsin Flora of the Northeastern United States Flora of the Southeastern United States Flora without expected TNC conservation status