Sword fern spotting surges across Canada this week
iNaturalist Community
Native Plants
If you're hiking a shaded Pacific coast trail or tending a woodland garden bed, this is the evergreen fern you're probably walking past right now, and more people are finally stopping to photograph it.
Western sword fern is a big, feathery evergreen fern that grows in shady forests, especially along the Pacific coast. This week it topped the charts on iNaturalist with 142 recorded sightings in Canada, a small bump up from 137 the week before, showing it's one of the plants people are noticing and photographing most right now.
Key Findings
142 observations of Polystichum munitum logged in Canada over the past 7 days
Up from 137 observations in the prior 7-day period, a 5-observation increase
Among the most-observed plant species in Canada on iNaturalist this week
chevron_right Technical Summary
Western sword fern sightings in Canada are climbing on iNaturalist, with 142 logged in the past week, up from 137 the week before, making it one of the most observed plants in the country right now.
Abstract Preview
Original paper
Trending: western sword fern (Polystichum munitum) — 142 observations this week
Western sword fern (Polystichum munitum) is a species in the family Dryopteridaceae. iNaturalist users recorded 142 observations of it in Canada in the 7 days before today, among the most for any p...
open_in_new Read full abstractAbstract copyright held by the original publisher.
Species Mentioned
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Polystichum munitum, the western swordfern, is an evergreen perennial fern native to western North America, where it is one of the most abundant ferns in forested areas. It occurs along the Pacific coast from southeastern Alaska to southern California, and also inland east to southeastern British...