''Dryopteris campyloptera'', also known as the mountain wood fern, is a large American

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 except t ...

of higher elevations and latitudes. It was formerly known as ''Dryopteris spinulosa'' var. ''americana''. This species also has been mistakenly referred to as ''D. austriaca'' and ''D. dilatata''. A distinctive feature of this fern is that the bottom innermost pinnule on the basal pinnae spans approximately the first two top innermost pinnules on the same pinnae. This fern is a

tetraploid Polyploidy is a condition in which the cells of an organism have more than one pair of ( homologous) chromosomes. Most species whose cells have nuclei (eukaryotes) are diploid, meaning they have two sets of chromosomes, where each set contains ...

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 ...

of hybrid origin, the parents being ''

Dryopteris intermedia ''Dryopteris intermedia'', the intermediate wood fern or evergreen wood fern, is a perennial, evergreen wood fern native to eastern North America. It is a diploid species, and is the parent of several species of hybrid origin, including ''Dryopte ...

'' and ''

Dryopteris expansa ''Dryopteris expansa'', the alpine buckler fern, northern buckler-fern or spreading wood fern, is a species of fern native to cool temperate and subarctic regions of the Northern Hemisphere, south at high altitudes in mountains to Spain and Greec ...

''. Phenotypologically, the fern greatly resembles the second parent. In

West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the Bur ...

, this species may only be found above 3800 feet elevation, but is a part of the normal flora in northern

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...

References

campyloptera Ferns of the Americas Ferns of the United States Flora of the Northeastern United States Flora of the Appalachian Mountains Flora of West Virginia Plants described in 1930 Natural history of the Great Smoky Mountains {{Dryopteridaceae-stub