The Wild Garden: Hansen's Northwest Native Plant Database

Dryopteris arguta (Coastal Shield Fern, Coastal Wood Fern, Wood Fern)

Kingdom	:	Plantae – Plants
Subkingdom	:	Tracheobionta – Vascular plants
Division	:	Pteridophyta – Ferns
Class	:	Filicopsida
Order	:	Polypodiales
Family	:	Dryopteridaceae – Wood Fern family
Genus	:	Dryopteris Adans. – woodfern
Species	:	Dryopteris arguta (Kaulf.) Watt – coastal woodfern

A beautiful evergreen fern.

Tolerating more sun than other northwest ferns, this species is found growing on steep wooded slopes or on sunny riverbanks along the Pacific coast, west of the Cascades, and into Arizona.

Its hardiness ranges from USDA zones 7-10.

It is classified as an endangered species in Canada.

The "pineapple-like" root was reportedly an important food for Native Americans.

Photo above center by Gordon Leppig and Andrea J. Pickart

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