On average the O. regalis can mostly be recoginized by its common name: Royal fern. It can grow up to six feet in length. It is one of the largest native American species. The 4- inch leaflets turn from red to green as they mature. The roostock is stout, short creeping and erect. It lives in wet woods, cypress and in creek swamps ( Small, 1938). The individual pinnia are smooth and green and grow in a clustered fashion. The royal fern has a wide reange of distributiuon, it is found in the northern and southern hemispheres of the Old ans New worlds. Within the United States, it is widespread in the Eastern part of the states and is frequent throughout all of Georgia (Synder and Bruce, 1986). Carl Linnaeus names the Osmunda regalis in 1753. The species name regalis, refers to its handsome, broad fronds. The phrase ³Flowering- fern² is often used to describe this ornamantal fern. A patch of this fern often appears as a pleasant bed of flowering plants, hence the name regalis( Jones, 1987).
AREA | STATUS | REFERENCES
N. AMERICA | YES | SMALL, 1938
| E. NORTH AMERICA | YES | SMALL, 1938
| S.E. UNITED STATES | YES | SMALL, 1938
| SOUTHERN APPALACHIAN STATES | YES | SMALL, 1938
| COASTAL PLAIN | YES | McVAUGH & PRYOR , 1951
| PIEDMONT | YES | McVAUGH & PRYOR, 1951
| BLUE RIDGE MOUNTAINS | MARGINAL | McVAUGH & PRYOR, 1951
| GREAT SMOKEY MOUNTAINS NATIONAL PARK | RARE | McVAUGH & PRYOR, 1951
| RIDGE AND VALLEY | NO | McVAUGH & PRYOR, 1951
| CUMBERLAND PLATEAU | YES | SYNDER & BRUCE, 1986
| CENTRAL ARCH | YES | SYNDER & BRUCE, 1986
| GEORGIA | YES | SYNDER & BRUCE,1986
| CLARKE COUNTY, GA | YES | PERSONAL OBS.
| SAMıS FARM | YES | PERSONAL OBS.
| OLD FIELD | NO | PERSONAL OBS.
| WETLAND | YES | PERSONAL OBS.
| WOODS | MARGINAL | PERSONAL OBS.
| 1-HECTARE PLOT | RIVERSIDE | PERSONAL OBS
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