''Lygodium palmatum'' is the only species of its genus native to
North America
North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...
. Unlike most species in the genus, this one, called the American climbing fern
(or Hartford fern, after
Hartford, Connecticut
Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since the ...
), is extremely hardy in
temperate
In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (23.5° to 66.5° N/S of Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ranges throughout t ...
zones.
This fern is on endangered or threatened species lists in several states. It requires constant moisture, high light levels, and intensely
acid
In computer science, ACID ( atomicity, consistency, isolation, durability) is a set of properties of database transactions intended to guarantee data validity despite errors, power failures, and other mishaps. In the context of databases, a sequ ...
soil to thrive. Its range is essentially
Appalachia
Appalachia () is a cultural region in the Eastern United States that stretches from the Southern Tier of New York State to northern Alabama and Georgia. While the Appalachian Mountains stretch from Belle Isle in Newfoundland and Labrador, Ca ...
n, ranging from
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 ...
down through the Appalachians,
Piedmont
it, Piemontese
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and Appalachian plateaus into the American south.
References
*Lellinger, David B. ''A Field Manual of the Ferns & Fern Allies of the United States & Canada''. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC. 1985.
External links
*
palmatum
{{Polypodiidae-stub