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Dryopteris ludoviciana

(Kunze) Small

Southern Shield Woodfern

G5Secure Found in 1 roadless area NatureServe Explorer →

G5SecureGlobal Rank

MediumThreat Impact

Identity

Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.153956

Element CodePPDRY0A0J0

Record TypeSPECIES

ClassificationSpecies

Classification StatusStandard

Name CategoryVascular Plant

Endemicendemic to a single nation

KingdomPlantae

PhylumFilicinophyta

ClassFilicopsida

OrderFilicales

FamilyDryopteridaceae

GenusDryopteris

Other Common Names

Southern Woodfern (EN) southern woodfern (EN)

Concept Reference

Kartesz, J.T. 1994. A synonymized checklist of the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland. 2nd edition. 2 vols. Timber Press, Portland, OR.

Taxonomic Comments

Dryopteris ludoviciana "is one of the diploid parent species of the e. North American reticulately-evolved Dryopteris complex. Its genome (symbolized LL) forms half of the genome of the tetraploids D. cristata and D. celsa, as well as contributing one third of the genome of D. clintoniana indirectly (via its daughter species D. cristata)" ( Flora of North America Editorial Committee 1993, Weakley 2022).

Conservation Status

Rank Method Rank calculation - Biotics v2

Review Date2022-10-31

Change Date2022-10-31

Edition Date2022-10-31

Edition AuthorsNordman, C. (2022), rev. SE RSGCN Workshop (2022)

Threat ImpactMedium

Range Extent200,000-2,500,000 square km (about 80,000-1,000,000 square miles)

Number of Occurrences> 300

Rank Reasons

Dryopteris ludoviciana is endemic to the southeastern Coastal Plain of the United States, from eastern North Carolina to Florida, southern Arkansas and east Texas. There are more than 300 occurrences and it is common in Georgia, Florida, and South Carolina. In some areas, it is threatened by residential and commercial development, and by invasive exotic plants.

Range Extent Comments

Dryopteris ludoviciana is endemic to the southeastern Coastal Plain of the United States, from eastern North Carolina to Florida, west to southern Arkansas and east Texas, the extent of occurrence is estimated to be 1,062,000 square kilometers (Flora of North America Editorial Committee 1993, GBIF 2022, iNaturalist 2022, NatureServe 2022, SEINet 2022, Weakley 2022).

Occurrences Comments

Based on NatureServe Network occurrence data, herbarium records, photo-based observations, and field observations, there are likely over 300 occurrences rangewide (GBIF 2022, iNaturalist 2022, NatureServe 2022, SEINet 2022, SE RSGCN Workshop 2022). It is common in South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida (Weakley and Southeastern Flora Team 2022).

Threat Impact Comments

Dryopteris ludoviciana is threatened by residential and commercial development, and by invasive exotic plants.

Ecology & Habitat

Habitat

Swamp forests, especially blackwater swamp forests, margins of cypress swamps, wet woods, shaded limestone outcrops, and hammocks, at elevations of 0-100 m (Flora of North America Editorial Committee 1993, Snyder & Bruce 1986, Weakley 2022).

Terrestrial Habitats

Forest/Woodland

Palustrine Habitats

FORESTED WETLAND

Other Nations (1)

United StatesN5

Province	Rank	Native
South Carolina	S4	Yes
Mississippi	S1	Yes
Florida	S4	Yes
Texas	S1	Yes
Louisiana	S2	Yes
Arkansas	S1	Yes
Alabama	S3	Yes
Georgia	SNR	Yes
North Carolina	S2	Yes
Kentucky	SX	Yes

Threat Assessments

Threat	Scope	Severity	Timing
1 - Residential & commercial development	Restricted - small	Serious or 31-70% pop. decline	High (continuing)
1.1 - Housing & urban areas	Restricted - small	Serious or 31-70% pop. decline	High (continuing)
8 - Invasive & other problematic species, genes & diseases	Large (31-70%)	Moderate or 11-30% pop. decline	High (continuing)
8.1 - Invasive non-native/alien species/diseases	Large (31-70%)	Moderate or 11-30% pop. decline	High (continuing)

Plant Characteristics

DurationPERENNIAL

Economic Value (Genus)No

Roadless Areas (1)

Florida (1)

Area	Forest	Acres
Alexander Springs Creek	Ocala National Forest	2,954

References (9)

Flora of North America Editorial Committee (FNA). 1993a. Flora of North America north of Mexico. Vol. 2. Pteridophytes and gymnosperms. Oxford Univ. Press, New York. xvi + 475 pp.
Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF). 2022. Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) data portal. Online. Available: https://www.gbif.org/ (accessed 2022).
iNaturalist. 2022. Online. Available: https://www.inaturalist.org (accessed 2022).
Kartesz, J.T. 1994. A synonymized checklist of the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland. 2nd edition. 2 vols. Timber Press, Portland, OR.
NatureServe. 2022. NatureServe Network Biodiversity Location Data. NatureServe, Arlington, Virginia.
Snyder, L.H., Jr., and J.G. Bruce. 1986. Field guide to the ferns and other pteridophytes of Georgia. Univ. Georgia Press, Athens. 270 pp.
Southeastern Regional Species of Greatest Conservation Need Workshop (SE RSGCN Workshop). 2022. Jon Ambrose, Keith Bradley, Malissa Briggler, John Burkhart, Emily Coffey, Todd Crabtree, Amanda Eberly, Margie Dent, Chris Doffitt, Bruce Hoagland, Amy Jenkins, Wesley Knapp, Stephanie Koontz, Lisa Kruse, David Lincicome, Gemma Milly, Sarah Norris, Carrie Radcliffe, Hanna Rosner-Katz, Al Schotz, Jason Singhurst, Diana Soteropoulos, Carlee Steppe, Samantha Tessel, John Townsend, Alan Weakley, Brenda Wichmann, and Theo Witsell. Status assessment workshop, Oct. 17-20, 2022, Atlanta Botanical Garden, Atlanta, GA.
Southwest Environmental Information Network (SEINet). 2022. Collections Databases. Online. Available: https://swbiodiversity.org/seinet/collections/index.php (accessed 2022).
Weakley, A.S., and Southeastern Flora Team. 2022. Flora of the southeastern United States. Edition of April 24, 2022. University of North Carolina Herbarium (NCU), North Carolina Botanical Garden, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. 2022 pp.

Dryopteris ludoviciana

Habitat

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