Streamside Swordfern vs Sword Fern

Nephrolepis rivularis compared with Nephrolepis exaltata

Key Differences

• Streamside Swordfern is Not Evaluated while Sword Fern is Least Concern.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Streamside 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 rivularis	Nephrolepis exaltata

Evolutionary Relationship

Streamside Swordfern and Sword Fern share a common ancestor at the Genus level: Nephrolepis.

Conservation Status

Streamside Swordfern

NE — Not Evaluated

Sword Fern

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Streamside Swordfern	Sword Fern
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Streamside Swordfern

Habitat

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

Range

Distributed across Brazil, Colombia, and Cuba.

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 3 countries:

🇧🇷 Brazil 🇨🇴 Colombia 🇨🇺 Cuba