WALLACE W HANSENNative Plants of the NorthwestNative Plant Nursery & Gardens
2158 Bower Ct S.E., Salem, Oregon 97317-9216
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Wallace W Hansen Click here for Home Page: www.nwplants.com For information about Wallace W Hansen Northwest Native Plant Nursery & Gardens: Business Information (Ordering, etc.) |
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Updated March 26, 2008Sword Fern, Western Sword Fern, Christmas Fern, Sword Holly Fern (Polystichum munitum)Family: Dryopteridacea |
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A Note from Wally: I grow
Polystichum munitum (Sword Fern, Western Sword Fern, Christmas Fern, Sword
Holly Fern) and many other Northwest
Native Plants here in my Nursery and Gardens in the Willamette Valley in
Western Oregon. I specialize in Northwest Native Plants and sell both
Wholesale and Retail, depending on quantity. I usually have plants
available year-round in one gallon containers and often in various other
container sizes and as Bare Root plants in the Winter months. This site is
intended as a reference for all who are interested in Northwest Native
Plants: amateur, professional – everyone. For more information, go to my
Home Page at www.nwplants.com and then
click on Plant Catalog for current prices and availability. Be sure and then click on
Plant
Sales for any bargains. If you buy in large quantities, check the Wholesale
Information Sites on my Home Page.
This article was written by Julie Rasmussen of Portland, Oregon, in August 2002. If you have any information about this species – stories, climates, uses, propagation, etc. please contact me at nwplants@gmail.com. If I publish your tips and information, I will credit you on the web and send you a credit memo. |
Photo of Sword Fern in 1 gallon pot, taken at the nursery in June, 2005 Photo by JoAnn Onstott Click on picture for larger view. |
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Description: If you have ever ventured into the forests of the Pacific Northwest, then you have surely seen the magnificent sword fern. It is so common throughout the forests in its range, that if there is a tree overhead, chances are there is a sword fern nearby. Often they share the shady forest floor with mosses and groundcovers, but sometimes you will find them creating a thick, rich carpet all by themselves. Instead of displaying flowers or colorful fall foliage, the sword fern offers a lush and grand landscape full of texture and color year-round. A single sword fern can provide a sophisticated accent to a shady Japanese garden, or several of them, alone or combined with other woodland plants, can bring the northwest forest to your own corner of the world. |
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The sword fern is a beautiful and long-lived evergreen fern that can become four feet tall and seven or eight feet wide in ideal conditions. However, it is more likely to grow to two or three feet tall and four to six feet wide. In a mature plant, as many as 100 dark-green, lance-shaped fronds may grow from the rhizome at the plant’s center. In early spring, the young fronds, or fiddleheads, appear and begin to slowly unroll. Each frond may reach four to six feet long and will live for several years. The fronds are comprised of many simple, alternate leaflets, or pinnae. These leaflets are finely serrated and have clusters of brown spore cases, called sori, on their undersides. When fully shaded, the sword fern will take on a wonderful spreading nature as the fronds arch outward from the central clump. In a sunnier position, the plant is more upright with shorter, erect fronds and almost overlapping leaflets. The structure of a young sword fern is like that of a mature plant, but they have a more crinkly appearance. |
Close-up of frond Photo by JoAnn Onstott Click on picture for larger view
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Habitat and Range: The sword fern can be found growing along the western coast of North America from the Yukon Territory and southeastern Alaska south to Santa Barbara County, California and east through Washington and northern Idaho into northwest Montana. It grows between sea level and mid-elevation. Outside of this area, two separate populations of sword ferns have been found, one in South Dakota and the other on Guadalupe Island, off Baja California. The sword fern will reach its grandest proportions under classic fern conditions - moist, loamy soil with nearly full shade. However, it does quite well in dry shade, part shade, and in soil with low to moderate nutrient levels. The sword fern prefers year-round moisture, but once established, the deep and fibrous roots make it quite drought resistant, especially when shaded. The sword fern is an understory plant in coniferous and mixed forests. It is commonly found with the following plants: vine maple (Acer circinatum), salal (Gaultheria shallon), twinflower (Linnaea borealis), cascade Oregon-grape (Mahonia nervosa), false lily-of-the-valley (Maianthemum dilatatum), rusty menziesia (Menziesia ferruginea), western springbeauty (Montiasibirica), wood sorrel (oxalis oregona), thimbleberry (Rubus parviflorus), salmonberry (Rubus spectabilis), threeleaf foamflower (Tiarella trifoliata), red huckleberry (Vaccinium parvifolium), evergreen huckleberry (Vaccinium ovatum), evergreen violet (Viola sempervirens), pioneer violet (Viola glabella). |
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Photo by JoAnn Onstott |
Native Plant Gardening:
The sword fern is a beautiful, flexible and very low maintenance addition
to the garden. It is appropriate for USDA zones 3-8. Sword ferns will
brighten even the darkest corners with a year-round lush green color. Try
planting them on their own, in combination with other native ferns, such
as the deer fern, or with some of the plants mentioned above. Nothing
communicates the peace and serenity of the forest like a sword fern
growing from a fallen moss-covered log! Dead fronds should be left attached to the plant through the winter and then removed, if desired, in February, just prior to the appearance of new growth. |
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Wildlife Habitat: Sword ferns provide cover for wildlife, and serve as a host plant for some butterflies. Elk, deer, black bears and mountain beavers forage on the fronds. Historical and Cultural Uses*: Native Americans used nearly every part of the sword fern. Because of their non-stick qualities, the fronds were used on berry-drying racks, to separate food in storage, and to line baking pits. They were also piled for use as mattresses. The young curled fronds were chewed to sooth sore throats, and Lummi women chewed them to hasten childbirth. Some tribes ate the rhizomes of the sword fern. They were dug in the spring, peeled and roasted over a fire or steamed in a baking pit, and served with fresh or dried salmon eggs. The cooked rhizomes were also eaten to cure diarrhea. The Quinaults boiled the roots in water and used the water as a treatment for dandruff. * Please use caution when preparing or eating any parts of a plant. Identification of the species and knowledge of a plant’s toxicity are both essential before using any plant species medicinally or otherwise. Please consult with a heath professional before attempting to treat any ailment. |
Take a camera when you go to the woods. Bring back a photo but leave the plants! Photo by Jennifer Rehm Click on picture for larger view |
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Propagation Techniques: Sword ferns may be divided in spring if the clump is large and the roots are well developed. Sword ferns may also be propagated from spores in a process that takes around six months. Collect the spores when mature, usually from July to late August. An easy way to collect the spores is to shake the fronds in a paper bag so the spores are contained when released from the fronds. Sprinkle the spores onto a bed of moistened peat moss, cover with plastic and place in a shady, but not completely dark, location with a temperature between 59 and 86 degrees Fahrenheit. Do not let the container dry out, but do not let mold grow in it either. Wipe away condensation to help prevent this. After several weeks, flat heart-shaped discs, called gametophytes, will appear. Mist with water if they appear dry and be sure to keep them moist. A few weeks later, tiny fern fronds will sprout from the gametophyte, which will eventually wither and die as the fern establishes itself independently. The ferns can be transplanted to individual containers a few weeks after the fronds appear, but take care as they are very fragile. Common Diseases: Sword ferns are very disease and pest resistant. |
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See
also these websites within www.nwplants.com:
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Bibliography: Thank you to the following references for their invaluable information:
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