sensitive fern
Onoclea sensibilis
The plant produces two distinct types of fronds: green leafy sterile fronds and brown, bead-like fertile fronds that persist through winter.
- Scientific name
- Onoclea sensibilis
- Taxonomy
- Plantae › Tracheophyta › Polypodiopsida › Polypodiales › Onocleaceae › Onoclea
- IUCN Red List status
- Least Concern
- Population trend
- stable
- Biome
- wetland
- Habitat
- Wet meadows, marshes, swamps, and stream banks.
- Diet
- Photosynthetic (Sunlight, Water, Carbon Dioxide).
- Range
- Eastern North America, China, Japan, Russia
- Size
- 30-100 cm in height; fronds up to 1 meter long.
- Lifespan
- Perennial (Rhizomes can persist for decades)
- Active
- diurnal
- Threats
- Wetland drainage, invasive species competition, and habitat fragmentation.
- Safe to approach?
- Harmless to touch. Do not consume, as the plant contains thiaminase, which is toxic to horses and can cause illness in humans if eaten raw.
Onoclea sensibilis , the sensitive fern , also known as the bead fern , is a coarse-textured, medium to large-sized deciduous perennial fern. The name comes from the observation by early American settlers that it was very sensitive to frost, the fronds dying quickly when first touched by it. It is sometimes treated as the only species in Onoclea , but some authors do not consider the genus monotypic.
Photo: Laura Clark, CC-BY, via iNaturalist
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