Intermediate Wood Fern
Dryopteris intermedia
Also known as: Fancy Wood Fern
Ohio's most common evergreen wood fern. Lacy, finely-cut fronds remain green through winter — anchor of the cold-season shade garden. Young fronds have historically been eaten once boiled, but wood ferns (Dryopteris) contain filicic acid, a genuine toxin capable of severe gastrointestinal and neurological symptoms — not a fiddlehead to forage; ostrich fern is the only one widely considered safe.
- Family
- Dryopteridaceae
- Type
- fern
- Lifespan
- perennial
- Height
- 1–3 ft
- Spacing
- 1–3 ft apart
- Light
- shade
- Soil moisture
- moist
- Soil pH
- acidic
- Landscape uses
- naturalizing
- Native states
- AL, CT, DC, DE, GA, IA, IL, IN, KY, MA, MD, ME, MI, MN, MO, NC, NH, NJ, NY, OH, PA, RI, SC, TN, VA, VT, WI, WV
Related native plants
More Dryopteris species
- Marginal Wood Fern (Dryopteris marginalis)
- Spinulose Wood Fern (Dryopteris carthusiana)
- Spreading Wood Fern (Dryopteris expansa)
- Crested Wood Fern (Dryopteris cristata)
- Southern Wood Fern (Dryopteris ludoviciana)
- Goldie's Wood Fern (Dryopteris goldiana)