Home/Species/ Northern Beech Fern

Phegopteris connectilis

(Michx.) Watt

Northern Beech Fern

G5Secure Found in 92 roadless areas NatureServe Explorer →

G5SecureGlobal Rank

Identity

Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.1329309

Element CodePPTHE02050

Record TypeSPECIES

ClassificationSpecies

Classification StatusStandard

Name CategoryVascular Plant

Endemicoccurs (regularly, as a native taxon) in multiple nations

KingdomPlantae

PhylumFilicinophyta

ClassFilicopsida

OrderFilicales

FamilyThelypteridaceae

GenusPhegopteris

Synonyms

Dryopteris phegopteris(Linnaeus) C. ChristensenPhegopteris polypodioidesFéePolypodium connectileMichauxPolypodium phegopterisLinnaeusThelypteris phegopteris(L.) Slosson

Other Common Names

long beechfern (EN) Long Beechfern (EN) Northern Beechfern (EN) Phégoptère du hêtre (FR)

Concept Reference

Patel, N.R., S. Fawcett, and A.V. Gilman. 2019. Phegopteris excelsior (Thelypteridaceae): a new species of North American tetraploid beech fern. Novon 27(4): 211-218.

Taxonomic Comments

This record represents the narrow concept of Phegopteris connectilis, not including P. excelsior following Patel et al. (2019). In contrast, the concept of P. connectilis in Kartesz (1994) includes P. excelsior material. The generic placement of this taxon in Phegopteris is in accordance with the Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group I (2016). P. connectilis and P. excelsior are accepted as distinct by Fawcett and Smith (2021). "P. connectilis, has among the broadest geographic ranges of any vascular plant species, extending throughout the northern temperate and boreal forests of Europe, Asia, and North America" (Fawcett and Smith 2021) whereas P. excelsior is endemic to northeastern North America (Patel et al. 2019, Fawcett and Smith 2021).

Conservation Status

Rank MethodExpertise without calculation

Review Date2016-05-16

Change Date1984-09-06

Threat Impact Comments

Somewhat threatened by land-use conversion and habitat fragmentation, and to a lesser degree by forest management practices (harvest, site prep, Rx fire) and human disturbance (picking and trampling at spray cliffs, such as Dry Falls) (Southern Appalachian Species Viability Project 2002).

Ecology & Habitat

Other Nations (2)

CanadaN5

Province	Rank	Native
New Brunswick	S5	Yes
Labrador	S5	Yes
Manitoba	S2	Yes
Yukon Territory	S1	Yes
Ontario	S5	Yes
Island of Newfoundland	S5	Yes
Northwest Territories	S3	Yes
British Columbia	S5	Yes
Prince Edward Island	S5	Yes
Alberta	S3	Yes
Nova Scotia	S5	Yes
Quebec	S5	Yes
Saskatchewan	S3	Yes

United StatesNNR

Province	Rank	Native
Montana	S2	Yes
Colorado	SH	Yes
Delaware	SH	Yes
Rhode Island	S1	Yes
North Carolina	S2	Yes
Massachusetts	SNR	Yes
Minnesota	SNR	Yes
Washington	SNR	Yes
Pennsylvania	SNR	Yes
West Virginia	S3	Yes
Maine	SNR	Yes
Wisconsin	SNR	Yes
Maryland	S2	Yes
New Hampshire	SNR	Yes
New York	S5	Yes
Michigan	SNR	Yes
Tennessee	S1	Yes
Illinois	S1	Yes
Vermont	S5	Yes
Iowa	S1	Yes
Ohio	S3	Yes
Idaho	S2	Yes
New Jersey	S2	Yes
Connecticut	SNR	Yes
Oregon	SNR	Yes
Alaska	SNR	Yes

Plant Characteristics

Economic Value (Genus)No

Roadless Areas (92)

Alaska (45)

Area	Forest	Acres
Bering Lake	Chugach National Forest	965,076
Boston Bar	Chugach National Forest	53,617
Central Wrangell	Tongass National Forest	13,397
Chichagof	Tongass National Forest	555,858
Chugach-12	Chugach National Forest	8,116
Chugach-13	Chugach National Forest	13,337
Cleveland	Tongass National Forest	189,447
College Fiord	Chugach National Forest	1,130,818
Copper River Wetlands	Chugach National Forest	85,972
Douglas Island	Tongass National Forest	28,065
El Capitan	Tongass National Forest	26,693
Fidalgo-Gravina	Chugach National Forest	257,968
Freshwater Bay	Tongass National Forest	44,933
Game Creek	Tongass National Forest	54,469
Gravina	Tongass National Forest	37,381
Harding	Tongass National Forest	174,349
Hoonah Sound	Tongass National Forest	79,764
Hyder	Tongass National Forest	121,723
Johnson Pass	Chugach National Forest	152,508
Juneau Urban	Tongass National Forest	101,581
Juneau-Skagway Icefield	Tongass National Forest	1,187,268
Karta	Tongass National Forest	52,117
Kenai Lake	Chugach National Forest	213,172
Kenai Mountains	Chugach National Forest	306,600
Kogish	Tongass National Forest	65,216
Kosciusko	Tongass National Forest	64,134
Madan	Tongass National Forest	68,553
Nellie Juan	Chugach National Forest	713,697
North Baranof	Tongass National Forest	314,089
North Cleveland	Tongass National Forest	105,288
North Kruzof	Tongass National Forest	33,146
North Revilla	Tongass National Forest	215,430
Port Alexander	Tongass National Forest	120,681
Quartz	Tongass National Forest	143,003
Redoubt	Tongass National Forest	68,347
Revilla	Tongass National Forest	29,298
Rhine	Tongass National Forest	23,010
Roaded Donut	Chugach National Forest	968
Sheridan Glacier	Chugach National Forest	224,683
Sitka Urban	Tongass National Forest	112,003
Spires	Tongass National Forest	533,746
Taku-Snettisham	Tongass National Forest	664,928
Thorne River	Tongass National Forest	72,983
Twenty Mile	Chugach National Forest	198,775
West Wrangell	Tongass National Forest	10,291

Maine (1)

Area	Forest	Acres
Caribou - Speckled Ext	White Mountain National Forest	5,988

Michigan (2)

Area	Forest	Acres
Fibre	Hiawatha National Forest	7,432
Norwich Plains Revised Roadless Area	Ottawa National Forest	4,360

Minnesota (5)

Area	Forest	Acres
Brule Lake - Eagle Mountain	Superior National Forest	12,380
Cabin Creek	Superior National Forest	6,071
Hegman Lakes	Superior National Forest	675
Mississippi Creek	Superior National Forest	5,717
Phantom Lake	Superior National Forest	6,521

Montana (1)

Area	Forest	Acres
Scotchman Peaks (MT)	Kootenai National Forest	53,909

New Hampshire (12)

Area	Forest	Acres
Carr Mountain	White Mountain National Forest	17,110
Great Gulf Ext.	White Mountain National Forest	15,110
Jobildunk	White Mountain National Forest	3,660
Kearsarge	White Mountain National Forest	4,554
Kilkenny	White Mountain National Forest	28,766
Kinsman Mountain	White Mountain National Forest	8,999
Mt. Wolf - Gordon Pond	White Mountain National Forest	11,846
Pemigewasset	White Mountain National Forest	32,255
Pemigewasset Ext	White Mountain National Forest	15,840
Presidential - Dry River Ext	White Mountain National Forest	10,555
Sandwich Range	White Mountain National Forest	16,797
Wild River	White Mountain National Forest	46,878

North Carolina (2)

Area	Forest	Acres
Overflow Creek	Nantahala National Forest	3,379
Sam Knob (addition)	Pisgah National Forest	2,576

Pennsylvania (2)

Area	Forest	Acres
Allegheny Front	Allegheny National Forest	7,430
Minister Valley	Allegheny National Forest	1,417

Vermont (5)

Area	Forest	Acres
Bread Loaf	Green Mountain and Finger Lakes National Forests	1,768
Devil's Den 09083	Green Mountain and Finger Lakes National Forests	9,169
Griffith Lake 09084	Green Mountain and Finger Lakes National Forests	1,833
Wilder Mountain 09082	Green Mountain and Finger Lakes National Forests	8,759
Woodford 09086	Green Mountain and Finger Lakes National Forests	2,456

Washington (5)

Area	Forest	Acres
Boulder River	Mt Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest	32,563
Glacier Peak J	Mt Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest	26,482
Glacier Peak K	Mt Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest	47,269
Glacier Peak L	Mt Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest	14,084
Mt. Baker North	Mt Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest	16,873

West Virginia (5)

Area	Forest	Acres
Canaan Loop	Monongahela National Forest	7,867
Dolly Sods Roaring Plain	Monongahela National Forest	13,392
Seneca Creek	Monongahela National Forest	22,287
Tea Creek Mountain	Monongahela National Forest	8,295
Turkey Mountain	Monongahela National Forest	6,421

Wisconsin (7)

Area	Forest	Acres
09012 - Round Lake Study Area	Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest	3,707
09154 - St. Peters Dome	Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest	4,002
09161 - Gates Lake	Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest	5,255
09177 - Le Roy Creek	Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest	8,138
09180 - Perch Lake	Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest	2,390
09181 - Foursection	Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest	2,037
09182 - Pentoga Road	Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest	5,008

References (6)

Fawcett, S., and A.R. Smith. 2021. A generic classification of the Thelypteridaceae. Sida, Bot. Misc. 59. BRIT Press, Fort Worth Botanic Garden, Botanical Research Institute of Texas, U.S.A. 102 pp.
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.
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.
Patel, N.R., S. Fawcett, and A.V. Gilman. 2019. <i>Phegopteris excelsior </i>(Thelypteridaceae): a new species of North American tetraploid beech fern. Novon 27(4): 211-218.
Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group I. 2016. A Community-Derived Classification for Extant Lycophytes and Ferns. Journal of Systematics and Evolution 54(6): 563–603.
Southern Appalachian Species Viability Project. 2002. A partnership between the U.S. Forest Service-Region 8, Natural Heritage Programs in the Southeast, NatureServe, and independent scientists to develop and review data on 1300+ regionally and locally rare species in the Southern Appalachian and Alabama region. Database (Access 97) provided to the U.S. Forest Service by NatureServe, Durham, North Carolina.