The alpine lady fern prefers wet talus slopes, rocky hillsides, and subalpine meadows, from mid-elevations to 10,000 feet. It is smaller than the lady fern (A. filix-feminina), reaching a height of 8-32". Lance-shaped fronds, doubly or trebly compound, range from 6" x 1" to 22" x 10" in size. Short-stalked, triangular pinnae are more finely dissected than those of the lady fern.

Distribution includes the Pacific Northwest and much of the Rockies, stretching north to Alaska. It is also found in Greenland, Newfoundland, and the Yukon, with relatives in Europe and Japan. Taxonomy for this plant is in dispute. It is named either A. distentifolium or A. alpestre, and the American plant is alternately called a subspecies or a variety.

Widespread and variable throughout the Western U.S. and Canada, extending from the coast to the desert at altitudes of sea level to 10,000'. Bracken Ferns like open sunny areas and partial shade in soft soil where the roots can penetrate. Bracken ferns grow as single fronds ranging from 3' to 7' in height. A distinguishing feature is that pinnae appear on the third branch as illustrated. These are very invasive and hardy fellows, almost impossible to eradicate. The deep root system is almost immune to forest fires. As children, we used the primary stipe, stripped of all branches, as spears in mock battles.

Horsetail is easily recognized by the vertical, jointed, hollow stems (up to 1/2" diameter). Sterile stems have several long, narrow leaves growing like fringes all around the circumference at each joint. Fertile stems are not similarly fringed, but have a cone like growth at the top which holds the spores. They grow abundantly in all kinds of soil from sea level to 8,500'. Common Horsetail is one of the most widespread plants in the world and is frequently a gardener's nightmare - almost impossible to eradicate. Horsetails have a long history, dating back to the Devonian period (400 million years ago). Because of their rough texture they were commonly used throughout the ancient world for scouring cooking vessels. Horsetail was one of the first plants to reappear after the Mt. St. Helens eruption in 1980.

Very common in shady, damp, rich woods from sea level to 2,500' throughout western parts of Washington, Oregon, British Columbia and northern California. Grow in large, dense clumps 2 to 3 feet high. Once pinnately compound, distinguished by pinules growing directly out of primary stem starting near the base. Named because profile of each frond is shaped something like a medieval broadsword; wide at the base, tapering to the tip. As in most ferns, clusters of brownish spores accumulate on the back side. If you notice that the tips of fronds are missing, that is a sign that a colony of Mountain Beaver lives nearby. Sword Ferns and Stinging Nettle are the Mountain Beaver's choice foods. Native Americans used Swordferns for mattresses and to line floors and fire pits.

Found throughout low, sea level to 2,000', coastal regions in moist forests. Deer Ferns have two types of fronds. Both types grow together out of common root clumps.
Sterile fronds up to 2' long. Pinnules grow directly on the main stem, starting near the base. The pinnules are short at the base of the frond, lengthen at the center and taper back to the tip. The sterile fronds usually lie relatively flat to the ground and contain no spores on their back side.
Fertile fronds which have widely spaced narrow pinules, are taller and more erect than the sterile fronds. The back side are covered with spores.
Deer ferns were used by natives to sooth skin sores, a practice learned by watching deer rub their antler stubs after the antlers fell off.

Delicate, pale green fronds have diamond shaped profiles (pinnules are short at the base, getting longer at the center then tapering off toward the tip). They can reach heights over 5'. They grow in moist forests, swamps and thickets where the soil is soft to allow root penetration at all altitudes from sea level to 6,000'. The fronds will look ragged and worn out by early fall. Aboriginal people used Lady Ferns for covering berries while drying. Name "Lady Fern" derived from profile - narrow at the ankles and shoulders, wide at the hips.

These small ferns rarely grow larger than 2.5'. They like logs and wet mossy ground from sea level to 2,000'. A favorite habitat is aloft growing on tree trunks or limbs. Look for Licorice Ferns on branches of the Big Leaf Maple in shady lowland forests. Fairly broad pinnules grow along the primary stem to form once-pinnate fronds. The name is derived from licorice flavored rootlets. Several local Native American tribes chewed these rootlets for flavor and used them as medicine for colds and sore throats.

These ferns are unique in structure having a dark vertical stem (stipe) which branches out fan like into several pinna which are nearly horizontal. They are 1' to 2.5' tall; like rocky, shady, moist areas from sea level to 10,000'. Look for them along streams or in the spray zone of waterfall. Maidenhair Ferns were once exported and used by herbalists as cough medicine. Native Americans used the delicate black stipe to decorate baskets. The name was derived from the black, glossy, hair-like stalks or from the masses of dark root hairs.

Fronds have a triangular profile, pinules long at the base of the pinna tapering off to points at the tip.The stipes are long and scaley. Erect fronds may reach over 3' tall and grow in clusters. They like to grow in moist, richly soiled forests and openings and on scree slopes from sea level to 1,500' elevation. Rootstocks resemble a pineapple and were often eaten as a starchy food source.