Dryopteris australis (Wherry) Small. Southern Woodfern, Southern Shieldfern. Hab: Swamps, bottomlands, mesic forests. Dist: MD south to n. GA, s. AL, MS, w. LA and AR.

Origin/Endemic status: Endemic

Taxonomy Comments: Dryopteris australis originated as a hybrid of D. celsa × D. ludoviciana. It regularly occurs in the absence of one or both parents and also sometimes outside the current distribution of one of its parents, suggesting that it is able to reproduce via viable spores. It is therefore treated here without the hybrid ×, which would misleadingly indicate sterility and non-independence.

Synonymy: = Sf; = Dryopteris ×australis – K3, K4, pro species; = Dryopteris clintoniana (D.C.Eaton) Dowell var. australis Wherry; = n/a – C, FNA2, RAB, Tat

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Wetland Indicator Status:

• Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plain: FACW (name change)
• Eastern Mountains and Piedmont: FACW (name change)

Heliophily: 2