Climbing Fern

Climbing Fern or Hartford Fern (Lygodium palmatum) is a rare plant in Ohio. According to the Connecticut Botanical Society"  The climbing fern doesn't look much like a fern. Like many vines, it climbs by twining around other plants. The fronds are very long -- up to 15 feet -- and only around five inches wide. Pairs of hand-shaped subleaflets make up the sterile leaflets. The more finely divided fertile leaflets are at the top of the frond. The fronds were once gathered for Christmas decorations..."

• Family: Lygodiaceae
• Habitat: moist, open woods or thickets (acidic soil)
• Height: vine-like, to 8 feet
• Location of spores: at top of stalk
• Stipe (leaf stalk): fragile, vine-like
• Growth pattern: random
• Persistence: evergreen

We were lucky to have the opportunity to observe a sample of this rare plant that was picked by its finder (not me) for identification purposes.  Apparently it was growing successfully in the area of Hocking Country where it was found.  This is where a camera can be quite handy in that you can take a voucher photo of a specimen so as to leave it unharmed.