About Polypodium virginianum L.
Polypodium virginianum L. is a small, rhizomatous evergreen fern. It produces narrow leaves 8 to 40 centimetres (3.1 to 15.7 inches) long and 3 to 6 centimetres (1.2 to 2.4 inches) wide. These leaves grow from smooth, scaleless petioles that measure 3 to 15 centimetres (1.2 to 5.9 inches) long. The leaves are oblong, pinnatifid, and end in acuminate tips. In late summer and autumn, large circular sori are prominently visible on the underside of fertile fronds. Its sporangia are mixed with long brown glandular hairs. This fern typically grows on boulders, cliffs, and rocky slopes, and does not require well-developed soil. It is common across eastern North America, with a native distribution ranging from Newfoundland to Yukon, and extending south to Georgia, Alabama, and Arkansas.
