Narrow swordfern vs Sword Fern

Nephrolepis cordifolia compared with Nephrolepis exaltata

Key Differences

• Narrow swordfern is Not Evaluated while Sword Fern is Least Concern.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Narrow swordfern	Sword Fern
Kingdom same	Plantae (Plants)	Plantae (Plants)
Phylum same	Tracheophyta	Tracheophyta
Class same	Polypodiopsida (Polypodiopsida)	Polypodiopsida (Polypodiopsida)
Order same	Polypodiales (Polypodiales)	Polypodiales (Polypodiales)
Family same	Nephrolepidaceae	Nephrolepidaceae
Genus same	Nephrolepis	Nephrolepis
Species	Nephrolepis cordifolia	Nephrolepis exaltata

Evolutionary Relationship

Narrow swordfern and Sword Fern share a common ancestor at the Genus level: Nephrolepis.

Conservation Status

Narrow swordfern

NE — Not Evaluated

Sword Fern

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Narrow swordfern	Sword Fern
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Narrow swordfern

Habitat

Typically found in moist, shaded forest floors and tropical canopies.

Range

Widely distributed across Africa (South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe), Asia (Taiwan), Europe (Italy, Portugal, Sweden), North America (Cuba, United States), Oceania and the Pacific (New Zealand), and South America (Brazil, Colombia).

Sword Fern

Habitat

Typically found in moist, shaded forest floors and tropical canopies.

Range

Widely distributed across Africa (Seychelles, South Africa, Tanzania), Asia (Turkey), Europe (Portugal, Spain), North America (Cuba), Oceania and the Pacific (6 countries), and South America (Brazil, Colombia).

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 5 countries:

🇧🇷 Brazil 🇨🇴 Colombia 🇨🇺 Cuba 🇵🇹 Portugal 🇿🇦 South Africa