American Shield Fern vs Clinton'S Wood Fern

Dryopteris intermedia compared with Dryopteris clintoniana

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	American Shield Fern	Clinton'S Wood Fern
Kingdom same	Plantae (thực vật)	Plantae (thực vật)
Phylum same	Tracheophyta	Tracheophyta
Class same	Polypodiopsida (Lớp Dương xỉ)	Polypodiopsida (Lớp Dương xỉ)
Order same	Polypodiales (Bộ Dương xỉ)	Polypodiales (Bộ Dương xỉ)
Family same	Dryopteridaceae	Dryopteridaceae
Genus same	Dryopteris	Dryopteris
Species	Dryopteris intermedia	Dryopteris clintoniana

Evolutionary Relationship

American Shield Fern and Clinton'S Wood Fern share a common ancestor at the Genus level: Dryopteris.

Conservation Status

American Shield Fern

NE — Not Evaluated

Clinton'S Wood Fern

NE — Not Evaluated

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	American Shield Fern	Clinton'S Wood Fern
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

American Shield Fern

Habitat

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

Range

Distributed across Canada, France, Norway, and United States.

Clinton'S Wood Fern

Habitat

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

Range

Distributed across Canada and United States.

American Shield Fern

The American Shield Fern (Dryopteris intermedia) is a species in the genus Dryopteris. Typically found in moist, shaded forest floors and tropical canopies.

Clinton'S Wood Fern

Clinton's Wood Fern, Dryopteris clintoniana, is a large, robust fern in the family Dryopteridaceae native to eastern North America, ranging from Nova Scotia and New England south through the Appalachian Mountains and the Great Lakes region. It inhabits rich, moist, shaded forests including floodplain woodland, mesic slopes, and forested wetland margins, growing in soils with abundant leaf litter and high organic matter content. Clinton's Wood Fern is a tetraploid hybrid fern, arising from crosses between Dryopteris cristata (Crested Wood Fern) and Dryopteris goldiana (Goldie's Fern), and inherits intermediate characteristics from both parents. The fronds are large, once-pinnate to pinnate-pinnatifid, with broad, dark green pinnae that have rounded, finely toothed lobes. Like many hybrid ferns, it is fertile and reproduces apogamously. The species is named for DeWitt Clinton, as is Clinton's Bulrush, reflecting his early contributions to American natural history. Clinton's Wood Fern is considered relatively rare within its range, partly because it requires the specific combination of parental species in suitable habitat. Threats include forest clearance, invasive species, and changes in forest hydrology. It is listed as a species of conservation concern in several northeastern states.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 2 countries:

🇨🇦 Canada 🇺🇸 United States