Home/Species/ Ostrich Fern

Matteuccia struthiopteris

(L.) Todaro

Ostrich Fern

G5Secure Found in 20 roadless areas NatureServe Explorer →

G5SecureGlobal Rank

Identity

Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.160636

Element CodePPDRY0K010

Record TypeSPECIES

ClassificationSpecies

Classification StatusStandard

Name CategoryVascular Plant

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

KingdomPlantae

PhylumFilicinophyta

ClassFilicopsida

OrderPolypodiales

FamilyOnocleaceae

GenusMatteuccia

Synonyms

Onoclea struthiopterisL.Osmunda struthiopterisL.

Other Common Names

Matteucie fougère à l'autruche (FR) ostrich fern (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

Kartesz (1994) and Gleason and Cronquist (1991) do not recognize infraspecific taxa in Matteuccia struthiopteris, including Matteuccia struthiopteris var. pensylvanica, which is accepted by the FNA (1993, vol. 2). The generic placement of this taxon, in Matteuccia, is in accordance with the Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group I (2016).

Conservation Status

Rank MethodExpertise without calculation

Review Date2016-05-16

Change Date1984-06-08

Ecology & Habitat

Other Nations (2)

United StatesN5

Province	Rank	Native
Alaska	SNR	Yes
New Jersey	S4	Yes
Maine	SNR	Yes
Michigan	SNR	Yes
Maryland	S2	Yes
Wisconsin	SNR	Yes
Connecticut	SNR	Yes
Minnesota	SNR	Yes
Illinois	S2	Yes
Virginia	S1	Yes
Pennsylvania	SNR	Yes
North Dakota	SNR	Yes
Vermont	S5	Yes
New Hampshire	SNR	Yes
Ohio	SNR	Yes
Rhode Island	SNR	Yes
New York	S4	Yes
South Dakota	SNR	Yes
West Virginia	S2	Yes
Massachusetts	SNR	Yes
Iowa	S4	Yes
District of Columbia	SNR	Yes
Missouri	SNR	Yes
Indiana	S3	Yes
Nebraska	SNR	Yes

CanadaN5

Province	Rank	Native
Saskatchewan	S4	Yes
Ontario	S5	Yes
Nova Scotia	S5	Yes
Alberta	S4	Yes
Quebec	SNR	Yes
Labrador	S1	Yes
Island of Newfoundland	S3	Yes
Yukon Territory	S1	Yes
Prince Edward Island	S4	Yes
Manitoba	S5	Yes
Northwest Territories	S3	Yes
British Columbia	S5	Yes
New Brunswick	S5	Yes

Plant Characteristics

Economic Value (Genus)No

Roadless Areas (20)

Alaska (5)

Area	Forest	Acres
Boston Bar	Chugach National Forest	53,617
Kenai Lake	Chugach National Forest	213,172
Resurrection	Chugach National Forest	224,615
Roaded Donut	Chugach National Forest	968
Twenty Mile	Chugach National Forest	198,775

New Hampshire (1)

Area	Forest	Acres
Kinsman Mountain	White Mountain National Forest	8,999

North Dakota (1)

Area	Forest	Acres
Sheyenne	Dakota Prairie Grasslands	14,537

Pennsylvania (1)

Area	Forest	Acres
Clarion River	Allegheny National Forest	3,821

Utah (1)

Area	Forest	Acres
Mt. Logan South	Wasatch-Cache National Forest	17,014

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

Virginia (1)

Area	Forest	Acres
Southern Massanutten	George Washington National Forest	11,985

West Virginia (1)

Area	Forest	Acres
Seneca Creek	Monongahela National Forest	22,287

Wisconsin (4)

Area	Forest	Acres
09012 - Round Lake Study Area	Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest	3,707
09154 - St. Peters Dome	Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest	4,002
09159 - Thornapple	Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest	9,744
09161 - Gates Lake	Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest	5,255

References (5)

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.
Gleason, H.A., and A. Cronquist. 1991. Manual of vascular plants of northeastern United States and adjacent Canada. New York Botanical Garden, Bronx, New York. 910 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.
Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group I. 2016. A Community-Derived Classification for Extant Lycophytes and Ferns. Journal of Systematics and Evolution 54(6): 563–603.
Weakley, A.S., and Southeastern Flora Team. 2024. Flora of the southeastern United States. Edition of March 4, 2024. University of North Carolina Herbarium (NCU), North Carolina Botanical Garden, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. 2203 pp.