Download Pleopeltis polypodioides Resurrection Fern

Insert as an Additional Taxa For Cyrtomium falcatum:
Pleopeltis polypodioides (L.) E Andrews & M. Windham
Resurrection Fern
(Polypodium incanum, Polypodium polypodioides)
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Also known as Miracle Fern or Wonder Fern; this small coarse textured fern is most
frequently noted in the wild growing on venerable old Live Oaks in the warm humid
regions where it lends an air of lushness and antiquity to the trees; during much of the
year plants are a rich dark green, but when threatened with drought the fronds can dry
to resemble a dead leaf; once rains return, the plant re-greens from an apparently dead
mass of dried leaves.
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Native to the Americas and South Africa; useful in USDA zones 7 through 11; best
reserved for the eastern half and southern portions of our region.
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My first experience with this species was as the magical miracle fern that would
rehydrate from dried leaves overnight; it arrived from a mail order firm as a shriveled
dried mass and never really recovered in my bone dry house during a Midwest winter;
hence my opinion of this fern was not overly high, but after a period of observation in
its native haunts in stately old Live Oaks my stance has softened; this species has
potential as an aerial accent in cultivated or naturalized landscapes.
Copyrighted 2003 by Michael A. Arnold; Intended for future inclusion in Landscape Plants For Texas And Environs, Third
Edition.