Example ⟳ +
An example collection, so you can see what this page does. Nothing added here is kept: leaving deletes it.
Woodwardia areolata; photograph Choess, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons CC BY-SAChoess, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Woodwardia areolata (L.) T.Moore

Aspleniaceae · Nova Scotia, Illinois +29

English names not checked: Wikidata's common names were not read for this page.

Add one to my plants
Sow seed
Woodwardia areolata, photograph Choess, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia CommonsWoodwardia areolata, photograph Jasper Shide, CC0, via Wikimedia CommonsWoodwardia areolata, photograph Mjrmtg, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons 4 photographs ›
Habitat figures
Cold floor (1 night in 100)
-7.2°C
Record low -19.9 °C in 44 years, at a typical spot in the range NASA POWER
Warmest month, mean daily high
31°C
Jul at the habitat CHELSA
Rain a year (median across the range)
1,279mm
12 months of 25 mm or more in the median year CHELSA
Open-sky light
15–40DLI
Lowest to highest month (DLI) CHELSA
The year in your months, northern hemisphere
  1. Jan
  2. Feb
  3. Mar
  4. Apr
  5. May
  6. Jun
  7. Jul
  8. Aug
  9. Sep
  10. Oct
  11. Nov
  12. Dec
Rain spread: 70% of the median year's rain takes 8 months, so no short rainy season. rain rule, CHELSA
Northern hemisphere unless you set your site. The chart is in the habitat's months.

About the genus · Woodwardia

Woodwardia is a genus of ferns in the family Blechnaceae, in the suborder Aspleniineae of the order Polypodiales. Species are known as netted-chain ferns. The genus is native to warm temperate and subtropical regions of the Northern Hemisphere. More on Wikipedia ›

Quoted from Wikipedia, "Woodwardia", CC BY-SA 4.0.

Cultivation

Seasons

The rain rule reads no short rainy season: 70% of the median year's rain (875 mm of 1,237 mm) takes 8 months, December to January, March and May to September. Mean temperature moves 20.8 °C between the warmest and coldest month. Months are the habitat's, northern hemisphere; shifted six months for a southern-hemisphere collection: November to March, June to July and September.

Rain

1,237 mm in the median year at the habitat, 875 mm of it December to January, March and May to September. Wettest month July at 129 mm, driest month November at 88 mm. Across the grid cells of the range the year's total runs 1,140 mm to 1,560 mm, the 10th to 90th percentile of each cell's own year. The median of the cells' own yearly totals, 1,279 mm, is the year's rain at the top of the page; the 1,237 mm here is the median year's, the twelve monthly medians added, which the rain rule reads. Habitat calendar, northern hemisphere; median year across the grid cells of the range, CHELSA.

Light

Open sky over the habitat: 15 to 40 mol/m²/day across the year (daily light integral, median year across the grid cells of the range, CHELSA; the lowest 10th-percentile month across the cells is 12, the highest 90th-percentile month 41).

Warmth and air
Temperature

Coldest: the 1st-percentile night over 44 years at a typical spot in the range is -7.2 °C, the absolute minimum -19.9 °C, 2,541 frost nights in 44 years, 57.8 a year (NASA POWER daily minima). Warmest: the 99th-percentile day is 37.5 °C. Monthly means: the coldest month's mean nightly low 1.7 °C in January (across the grid cells of the range -2.6 °C to 8.4 °C), the warmest month's mean daily high 31.1 °C in July (median year across the grid cells of the range, CHELSA). Cold floor: -7.2 °C, which is the 1st-percentile night over 44 years at a typical spot in the range (NASA POWER).

Humidity

Relative humidity at the habitat: 56 to 61% across the year (monthly means, median year across the grid cells of the range, CHELSA). A figure about the air, saying nothing about how the plant takes water.

How this section is made

Each card states this species' habitat figures with their sources, and what two fixed rules read from them; nothing here says what the plant does, wants or tolerates. The rules · the terms.

Seasons. Read from the median year of CHELSA monthly rainfall and mean temperature across the grid cells of the range: the rain rule takes the smallest set of months carrying 70% of the rain and calls it winter when its mean is more than half a degree below the year's, summer when more than that above, and neither in between; the temperature rule, used only under 120 mm, names the cooler six months when they are at least a degree cooler than the other six. Months are shifted for the other hemisphere only where the temperature curve moves 4 °C or more and the habitat lies 10° or more from the equator. A reading of the curves, not an observation of the plant.

Rain. CHELSA monthly precipitation, median year across the grid cells of the range. The rain that falls where the species is recorded; nothing about how the plant takes water.

Light. CHELSA shortwave radiation at each envelope cell, a daily-mean flux taken to a daily total and converted at 2.07 mol of PAR per MJ. The sky over the habitat, measured; what reaches a plant under a rock, a shrub or a shade cloth is not.

Temperature. NASA POWER daily minima and maxima over 44 years at a typical spot in the range, lapse-corrected -11 m to its elevation; CHELSA monthly means, median year across the grid cells of the range. The cold floor is the 1st-percentile night named in its sentence. Not a measured survival limit for any plant in a pot.

Humidity. CHELSA relative humidity, median year across the grid cells of the range.

Climate across the habitat

Habitat months, northern hemisphere

Habitat climate of Woodwardia areolata through the yearWarmest month July, mean daily high 31 °C; coldest month January, mean nightly low 1.7 °C; 1,237 mm of rain in the median year (the twelve monthly medians added). Medians across the range, from CHELSA; the extremes at the edge from NASA POWER. Habitat months, northern hemisphere.-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°frost37.5° 99th-percentile day, NASA POWER-19.9° lowest night in 44 years, NASA POWER°C · day and nightcold quarter050100150200mm rainDLI 15–40RH 56–61%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
day night rain medians and 10th–90th percentile across 1169 habitat cells, CHELSA cold quarter: the three months around the coldest month's mean nightly low extremes over 44 years at a typical spot in the range, from NASA POWER, marked at the edge, in no month DLI, mol/m²/dayRH %each on its own scale
Figures by month
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Day °C11 / 5–1713 / 6–1917 / 11–2222 / 16–2626 / 21–2930 / 26–3231 / 28–3330 / 27–3227 / 24–3022 / 18–2617 / 13–2212 / 7–18
Night °C2 / -3–83 / -2–107 / 2–1211 / 7–1616 / 12–2020 / 18–2322 / 20–2422 / 20–2419 / 16–2213 / 10–188 / 5–143 / 0–10
Rain mm93 / 76–13290 / 74–142109 / 96–14893 / 72–121101 / 76–129116 / 98–181129 / 104–185121 / 94–188108 / 91–15991 / 81–11888 / 63–12598 / 76–142
DLI17 / 14–2022 / 20–2529 / 26–3236 / 33–3939 / 37–4140 / 38–4138 / 38–4035 / 34–3730 / 28–3224 / 21–2718 / 15–2215 / 12–18
RH %58 / 56–5957 / 55–5956 / 55–5856 / 54–5858 / 56–6160 / 58–6361 / 58–6461 / 59–6460 / 58–6358 / 57–6058 / 56–5958 / 56–59
How this section is made
Each figure is the median across the 1169 grid cells on land that hold in-range records (1521 records in those cells; 4 more cells hold records but no land by the elevation layer, so those records sit at sea and the cells are left out), with the 10th–90th percentile span across those cells after the slash where it differs. A dash is a month one or more of those cells has no figure for in the grid (a variable CHELSA does not carry there), so no median is taken rather than one over fewer cells. Extremes and elevation were read at a typical spot in the range, cell 1123:1914 (33.825, -84.275). Over 44 years there: absolute minimum -19.9 °C, 1st-percentile night -7.2 °C, 99th-percentile day 37.5 °C. Normals: CHELSA V2.1 1981–2010 climatology, 0.05° cells (each the mean of ~36 1 km pixels). Across the range: median and 10th–90th percentile of each month across the 1169 distinct grid cells holding 1521 of the 1525 in-range records (4 further cells with records at sea, by the elevation layer, left out); extremes and elevation at the typical cell 1123:1914 (its coldest month's mean nightly low nearest the median across cells); its position is the cell centre. Extremes: NASA POWER (MERRA-2) daily 1981–2024, cell 34.00_-84.375, lapse-corrected -11 m at 6.5 °C/km. Elevation: ETOPO 2022, 302 m (cell mean).

Natural habitat

Native range as published by WCVP; the marker is where the records are densest and decides nothing: the climate was read across the cells of the in-range records placed well enough to read one, not at the marker.
Openly licensed records inside the range, framed on where they fall.

This species has no GBIF key of its own. Its records are GBIF's under the key of the name Kew's World Checklist holds as this plant: 2651516 (Lorinseria areolata (L.) C.Presl, 1996 records). No name was matched to GBIF; the keys are read from Kew's synonymy. How.

NativeNova Scotia, Illinois, Missouri, Oklahoma, Connecticut, Indiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode I., West Virginia, Texas, Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, District of Columbia · regions are the level-3 units of the World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions, as Kew's World Checklist records ranges, some under historical names such as Yugoslavia or Czechoslovakia (how).
Map marker37.647, -76.712 · in the densest population, 1167 records (65% of those in range)
Kew's description“temperate” · quoted from WCVP, RBG Kew (CC BY 4.0); not derived here
Evidence usedThe map marker rests on all 1807 georeferenced records inside the native range; the climate across the range on the 1521 of them in the land cells it reads, of 1525 placed to within 10 km; the map shows only the 485 openly licensed ones, which alone would put the marker 34 km away. 2 records outside the WCVP native range not used. 282 in-range records are placed to worse than 10 km, or with no stated accuracy (admitted only as a person's observation to three decimals), and stay on the map but off the climate.
Other GBIF keysRecords also from GBIF's key 2651516 (Lorinseria areolata (L.) C.Presl): Kew's file holds it as Lorinseria areolata (L.) C.Presl (synonym under Woodwardia areolata (L.) T.Moore); 1,996 records, from GBIF's download.
How this section is made
The map marker: the openly licensed record nearest the middle of the densest 1° population inside the densest 4° block of the 1807 in-range records; it decides nothing. Records outside the native range, living specimens and records marked introduced are not used; which records count.

Photographs

Woodwardia areolata, photograph 1did not loadWoodwardia areolata, photograph 2did not loadWoodwardia areolata, photograph 3did not load

Photographs: Choess, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Jasper Shide, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons; Mjrmtg, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Similar habitat climate The 6 nearest by mean daily high, mean nightly low and rain, month by month. How.

Viburnum nudum Viburnum nudum Possumhaw viburnum Photo: CC0, author not statedScleria triglomerata Scleria triglomerata Whip nutrush Photo: CC BY, Bryan ConnollySymphyotrichum dumosum Symphyotrichum dumosum Bushy aster Photo: CC BY, Scott CaveLonicera sempervirens Lonicera sempervirens Trumpet honeysuckle Photo: CC BY, EdieGalactia regularis Galactia regularis Eastern milkpea Photo: CC BY, Sam KieschnickRuellia caroliniensis Ruellia caroliniensis Carolina wild petunia Photo: CC BY, portulaca

Other Woodwardia 7 in the reference

Woodwardia fimbriata Woodwardia fimbriata Giant chain fern Photo: CC0, author not statedWoodwardia japonica Woodwardia japonica Asian chain fern Photo: CC0, author not statedWoodwardia orientalis Woodwardia orientalis Oriental chain fern Photo: CC BY-SA, harum.kohWoodwardia prolifera Woodwardia prolifera Blechnaceae Photo: CC BY, Cheng-Te HsuWoodwardia radicans Woodwardia radicans Chain fern Photo: CC BY, Rui RibeiroWoodwardia unigemmata Woodwardia unigemmata Jewelled chain fern Photo: CC BY, 如此甚好Woodwardia virginica Woodwardia virginica Aspleniaceae Photo: Public domain, Robert H. Mohlenbrock.

Names & registers

Also known as Lorinseria areolata f. obtusilobata; Lorinseria areolata f. onocleoides; Osmunda caroliniana; Pteretis nodulosa; Struthiopteris nodulosa and 8 more. (WCVP, RBG Kew)

IPNIPOWOWikidataWFO

The record

Family
Aspleniaceae
Described by
(L.) T.Moore
Native to
Nova Scotia, Illinois, Missouri +28
Wild records
1807 in range · 485 open

Every figure here is derived from public data by a stated rule and names its source; nothing about this species is written for its page by a person or by AI, apart from the marked, credited quotations. How →

Where this page came from built 2026-10-22
Kew's names (WCVP) kew.names answeredas of 2026-06-04Kew's entry Woodwardia areolata (L.) T.Moore (plant_name_id 3175162), read from Kew's names file
GBIF species record gbif.species not askedGBIF's backbone holds no one accepted species of this name, and a name it holds only as another species' synonym is not taken for this one, so GBIF's records were not asked
GBIF synonyms gbif.synonyms not askedGBIF's backbone holds no one accepted species of this name, and a name it holds only as another species' synonym is not taken for this one, so GBIF's records were not asked
GBIF common names gbif.vernacular not askedGBIF's backbone holds no one accepted species of this name, and a name it holds only as another species' synonym is not taken for this one, so GBIF's records were not asked
WCVP native range wcvp.distribution answeredas of 2026-06-04
GBIF occurrence records gbif.occurrences answeredas of 2026-10-21this species has no GBIF key of its own; its records are read under GBIF's keys for the names Kew's file holds as this plant, never by a name matched; GBIF occurrence download https://doi.org/10.15468/dl.hbdw64, of 2026-10-21; 1996 records of GBIF's key 2651516, Lorinseria areolata (L.) C.Presl (Kew's file holds it as Lorinseria areolata (L.) C.Presl (synonym under Woodwardia areolata (L.) T.Moore)): the GBIF download; 69 records within 1 km of a botanic garden, herbarium or zoo left out (54 at a botanic garden or arboretum, 10 at a herbarium, 5 at a zoo; Wikidata's list)
Habitat climate climate answeredasked 2026-10-22
Daily extremes (NASA POWER) climate.extremes answeredasked 2026-10-22NASA POWER (MERRA-2) daily 1981–2024, cell 34.00_-84.375, lapse-corrected -11 m at 6.5 °C/km
Wikidata wikidata answeredasked 2026-10-22found by Kew's IPNI identifier 17235260-1, POWO 17235260-1
Wikipedia wikipedia nothing to reportasked 2026-10-22Wikipedia redirects Woodwardia areolata to Lorinseria
iNaturalist photographs, wild inat.photos.wild not asked
iNaturalist photographs, cultivated inat.photos.cultivated not asked
GBIF media gbif.media not askedGBIF's backbone holds no one accepted species of this name, and a name it holds only as another species' synonym is not taken for this one, so GBIF's records were not asked
Wikimedia Commons commons answeredasked 2026-10-22
OpenAlex papers openalex not askednot yet asked for this reference; a later fill takes the papers from OpenAlex's snapshot

Every source is recorded as having answered, reported nothing, refused, failed, not been asked, or answered twice where one answer is taken (“not taken: two items answered”), and, for a source asked when this page was built, when: the figures are as the source held them that day; a source read from a file (Kew's World Checklist, a GBIF download) says "as of" the file's day instead; a row carried from an earlier build of the page names that build instead. Only “nothing to report” is ever shown as an absence. Records came from 69 datasets via GBIF.org; each carries its own licence.

Cultifolio

Opening your plants…