Climbing Fern Scientific Name Family Name Lygodium palmatum (Bernh.) Sw. Lygodiaceae climbing fern family Did you know? This is our only fern that acts as a true vine, although it doesn't climb very high. Summary Protection Endangered in New York State, not listed federally. Rarity G4, S1 This level of state protection means: listed species are those with: 1) 5 or fewer extant sites, or 2) fewer than 1,000 individuals, or 3) restricted to fewer than 4 U.S.G.S. 7 ½ minute topographical maps, or 4) species listed as endangered by U.S. Department of Interior. A global rarity rank of G4 means: This species is apparently secure globally (typically with more than 100+ populations), though it may be quite rare in parts of its range, especially at the periphery. A state rarity rank of S1 means: This plant is endangered/critically imperiled in New York because of extreme rarity (typically 5 or fewer populations or very few remaining individuals) or is extremely vulnerable to extirpation from New York due to biological factors. Conservation Status in New York There are four existing populations but they are small and only one of them is on protected land. There are only five other historical locations for this fern in New York, from 1868 to 1965, but three of them no longer exist. NYNHP Conservation Guide - Climbing Fern (Lygodium palmatum)
Short-term Trends The short-term trend appears stable as existing populations have not increased or decreased. Long-term Trends This plant has always been very rare in New York with less than 5 populations. It will continue to exist at low levels into the foreseeable future. Conservation and Management Threats Populations are in unprotected areas that may be subject to future logging or development. Conservation Strategies and Management Practices Research Needs Establish undisturbed buffer areas around the woodlands where populations occur. Propagation studies are needed to see if populations can be augmented. Habitat The relatively few sites for Climbing Fern in New York are scattered widely across the state and vary widely in their habitat characteristics as well. Known sites include woods within pitch-pine barrens, alder swamps, wet areas within successional hardwood forests, and coastal swamp forests (New York Natural Heritage Program 2011). Rare and local... not tolerant of shading (FNA 1993). Moist thickets and woods in acid soil (Gleason and Cronquist 1991). Associated Ecological Communities Pitch Pine-heath Barrens A shrub-savanna community that occurs on well-drained, sandy or rocky soils. The most abundant tree is pitch pine and the shrublayer is dominated by heath shrubs. Other Probable Associated Communities Hemlock-hardwood swamp Associated Species Red Maple (Acer rubrum) Sugar Maple (Acer saccharum) Wild Sarsaparilla (Aralia nudicaulis) Gray Birch (Betula populifolia) Pennsylvania Sedge (Carex pensylvanica) Robin Runaway (Dalibarda repens) Ground Pine (Dendrolycopodium obscurum) NYNHP Conservation Guide - Climbing Fern (Lygodium palmatum) 2
Fan Club-moss (Diphasiastrum digitatum) Blue Ground-cedar (Diphasiastrum tristachyum) Evergreen Woodfern (Dryopteris intermedia) Sheep-laurel (Kalmia angustifolia) Sweet Gum (Liquidambar styraciflua) Canada May-flower (Maianthemum canadense) Three-leaf Solomon's-plume (Maianthemum trifolium) Partridgeberry (Mitchella repens) Blackgum (Nyssa sylvatica) Sensitive Fern (Onoclea sensibilis) Cinnamon Fern (Osmunda cinnamomea) Royal Fern (Osmunda regalis) Pitch Pine (Pinus rigida) Eastern White Pine (Pinus strobus) Wild Black Cherry (Prunus serotina) Eastern Bracken (Pteridium aquilinum) Pin Oak (Quercus palustris) Red Oak (Quercus rubra) Black Oak (Quercus velutina) Sassafras (Sassafras albidum) Carrion-flower (Smilax herbacea) Sphagnum New York Fern (Thelypteris noveboracensis) Marsh Fern (Thelypteris palustris) Eastern Hemlock (Tsuga canadensis) Highbush Blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum) Barren Strawberry (Waldsteinia fragarioides) Identification Comments The climbing fern has black wiry rhizomes that give rise to leaves that climb on surrounding vegetation to heights of up to 2 meters. The leaflets without spores are long-stalked, 2-4 cm long, 3-6 cm wide, heart-shaped at the base, and palmately lobed. The lobes are rounded above and with wavy smooth margins. The leaflets with spores are towards the top, much smaller, and several times branched with the ultimate segments only 3-5 mm long. Best Life Stage for Identifying This Species This fern can be identified any time leaves are present. The Best Time to See An evergreen fern, Lygodium palmatum may be most conspicuous in the winter months when little other green vegetation is present. NYNHP Conservation Guide - Climbing Fern (Lygodium palmatum) 3
Vegetative Fruiting Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Similar Species The time of year you would expect to find Climbing Fern in New York. There are no other vines or ferns that look like this species. Taxonomy Kingdom Phylum Plantae Filicinophyta Class Ferns (Filicopsida) Order Filicales Family Additional Common Names Creeping Fern Hartford Fern Lygodiaceae (climbing fern family) Additional Resources Links USDA Plants Database http://plants.usda.gov/java/namesearch?mode=sciname&keywordquery= LYGODIUM+PALMATUM NatureServe Explorer http://natureserve.org/explorer/servlet/natureserve?searchname=lygodium+palmatu M Google Images http://images.google.com/images?q=lygodium+palmatum Best Identification Reference Flora of North America Editorial Committee. 1993. Flora of North America, North of Mexico. Volume 2. Pteridophytes and Gymnosperms. Oxford University Press, New York. 475 pp. NYNHP Conservation Guide - Climbing Fern (Lygodium palmatum) 4
References Crow, Garrett E. 1982. New England's Rare, Threatened, and Endangered Plants. Prepared for the United States Department of Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service, Northeast Region. June 1982. Fernald, M.L. 1950. Gray's manual of botany. 8th edition. D. Van Nostrand, New York. 1632 pp. Gleason, Henry A. and A. Cronquist. 1991. Manual of Vascular Plants of Northeastern United States and Adjacent Canada. The New York Botanical Garden, Bronx, New York. 910 pp. Holmgren, Noel. 1998. The Illustrated Companion to Gleason and Cronquist's Manual. Illustrations of the Vascular Plants of Northeastern United States and Adjacent Canada. The New York Botanical Garden, Bronx, New York. Keys, Jr.,J.; Carpenter, C.; Hooks, S.; Koenig, F.; McNab, W.H.; Russell, W.;Smith, M.L. 1995. Ecological units of the eastern United States - first approximation (cd-rom), Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. GIS coverage in ARCINFO format, selected imagery, and map unit tables. Mitchell, Richard S. and Charles J. Sheviak. 1981. Rare Plants of New York State. Bull No. 445. New York State Museum. Univ. of New York. State Ed. Department Albany, NY. NatureServe. 2005. NatureServe Central Databases. Arlington, Virginia. USA New York Natural Heritage Program. 2010. Biotics database. New York Natural Heritage Program. New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. Albany, NY. Weldy, T. and D. Werier. 2010. New York flora atlas. [S.M. Landry, K.N. Campbell, and L.D. Mabe (original application development), Florida Center for Community Design and Research http://www.fccdr.usf.edu/. University of South Florida http://www.usf.edu/]. New York Flora Association http://wwws.nyflora.org/, Albany, New York New York Natural Heritage Program 625 Broadway, 5th Floor, Albany, NY 12233-4757 Phone: (518) 402-8935 acris@nynhp.org This project is made possible with funding from: - New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Hudson River Estuary Program - Division of Lands & Forests, Department of Environmental Conservation - New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation Information for this guide was last updated on Aug 24, 2017 This guide was authored by Stephen M. Young NYNHP Conservation Guide - Climbing Fern (Lygodium palmatum) 5