About Osmunda spectabilis Willd.
Osmunda spectabilis Willd. is a fern species that is easy to identify within New World flora. While it closely resembles the species Osmunda regalis, Osmunda japonica, and Osmunda lancea, only Osmunda spectabilis grows naturally in the New World. The fronds of Osmunda spectabilis can grow longer than 1 meter, and they are bipinnate. Its pinnules attach to the plant via a very narrow base. This fern produces separate sterile and fertile fronds. Fertile fronds match sterile fronds in their lower and middle portions, but the top-most pinnae are fertile; these fertile top pinnae are much reduced and turn brown when they mature in early summer. Osmunda spectabilis, also called American royal fern, most commonly grows in wetter soils, including soils found in wet forests, bogs, and along the banks of streams and shores of lakes.
