''Dryopteris arguta'', with the common name coastal woodfern, is a species of wood fern. It is native to the west coast and western interior

mountain range A mountain range or hill range is a series of mountains or hills arranged in a line and connected by high ground. A mountain system or mountain belt is a group of mountain ranges with similarity in form, structure, and alignment that have arise ...

s of

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 ...

, from

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

, throughout

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, and into

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

. It grows between sea level and . It is found in mixed evergreen forests,

oak woodland An oak woodland is a plant community with a tree canopy dominated by oaks (''Quercus spp.''). In terms of canopy closure, oak woodlands are intermediate between oak savanna, which is more open, and oak forest, which is more closed. Although the ...

s, and shady lower elevation slopes in chaparral and woodlands

habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

Description

''Dryopteris arguta'' is somewhat variable in appearance. Leaflets sometimes turn at an angle from the leaf, giving it a ruffled or lacy look, and the toothed leaflets may have bristles at their tips. According to C. Michael Hogan, The thin concave

indusia 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 quite closely spaced and almost entirely cover the

sporangia A sporangium (; from Late Latin, ) is an enclosure in which spores are formed. It can be composed of a single cell or can be multicellular. Virtually all plants, fungi, and many other lineages form sporangia at some point in their life cyc ...

.C. Michael Hogan. 2008
''Coastal Woodfern (Dryopteris arguta)'', GlobalTwitcher, ed. N. Stromberg

References

External links

Jepson Manual — ''Dryopteris arguta''CalFlora Database: ''Dryopteris arguta'' (California wood fern, Shield Fern, coastal wood fern)USDA Plants Profile: ''Dryopteris arguta''
arguta Ferns of California Ferns of Canada Ferns of Mexico Ferns of the United States Flora of the West Coast of the United States Flora of Baja California Flora of British Columbia Flora of Arizona Flora of Oregon Flora of Washington (state) Flora of the Sierra Nevada (United States) Natural history of the California chaparral and woodlands Natural history of the California Coast Ranges Natural history of the Peninsular Ranges Natural history of the Santa Monica Mountains Natural history of the Transverse Ranges Plants described in 1824 Garden plants of North America {{Dryopteridaceae-stub