These four sword ferns are very difficult to tell apart and their descriptions often overlap. Most likely you have either Tuberous Sword Fern or the larger Asian Sword Fern on your property. If you live near a natural area, you may have a remnant of native Giant or Boston Sword Ferns.
As you can see from the above picture, the sizes gradually become smaller going from Giant on the left to Tuberous Sword Fern on the right.
This article should make it easy for you to tell the difference between these ferns without the use of a hand lens. Having a ten power one handy, though, is advisable.
The parts of the fern that I describe are the Petiole, which is the lower stem with no leaflets on it and the Rachis, which is the extension of the petiole where the leaflets are attached. Both make up the leaf Blade.
The Auricle is the lobe at the base of the leaflet. This points upward when the blade is pointing upward. They may look like wedges, thumbs, round bumps or pitchers. You may find a smaller Auricle on the downward pointing side of the leaflet base as well.
The Sori is the brown dot or horseshoe shaped mass of spores on the underside of the leaflet near the margin.
Giant Asian Boston Tuberous Left to Right
This is a thumbnail of the upper surface of all four species starting on the left with the Giant and ending on the right with the Tuberous Sword Fern. Click picture to enlarge.
Giant and Asian Sword Fern Spore Positions
Look closely at the position of the Sori and you will notice that they are slightly inside the edge of the Giant Sword Fern leaflet and right on the edge of the Asian Sword Fern. You can see a bit of green between the leaflet edge and the sori on the Giant’s leaflet.
The average leaflet of the Giant Sword Fern is nine inches long, compared to five inches long on the Asian Sword Fern, and tends to be wavy. The spacing between leaflets on each side of a blade is 1 to 1.5 inches. The blade may be six to nine feet long compared to five feet long on the Asian Sword Fern. Look at several leaves because the young leaflets of the Giant Sword Fern may be similarly spaced as the Asian Sword Fern.
Giant Swordfern Ridge
Asian Sword Fern Ridge
With a hand lens you will notice two kinds of teeth on the margin of the Giant Sword Fern. One is round and the other, which is distinctly separate, yet touching, is small and pointed.
When the leaflet is folded over look carefully for a ridge of tiny sharp hairs (scales) that can be seen poking up like a Mohawk on the midvein. These are noticeable on both the Giant and the Asian Sword Fern. You will need a 10 power hand lens to see these. The other two, Boston and Tuberous, do not have these hairs sticking up from the midvein.
Take a good look and you will see the distinctly alternating round and sharp teeth on the Giant Sword Fern and the hodge podge of small and larger teeth on the Asian Sword Fern.
Sword Fern Leaflets
There are two forms of the Giant Sword Fern leaflet. The first on the left is the infertile and the second from the left is the spore forming. Asian, Boston and Tuberous follow. Click thumbnail to enlarge.
Both the Giant and Asian have a thumb (Auricle) pointing up, yet the Asian’s thumb will often be parallel to the Rachis, allowing a bit of light to shine through when held up to the sky.
The Giant’s thumb tends to point in towards the Rachis and covers it a bit. Midway up the leaf is the best place to look for this trait. Both may have this trait, so look at several leaves.
The upward pointing auricle of the Boston Fern and Tuberous Sword Fern make the shape of a penguins face when the leaflet is held vertical with the point down. The auricle of the Tuberous may also look like a pitcher, as in this picture.
Giant Asian Boston Tuberous Left to Right
The hairs (Scales) along the lower portion of young leaves seem similar at first glance. The Asian Sword Fern’s scales are a distinct dark lance with light brown edges. The Boston and Tuberous stems have almost identical scales that are light brown with a darker spot at the base of attachment. Most scales on the Giant Sword Fern are like the latter two except some may be similar to the Asian Sword Fern.
Tuberous vs Boston Sword Ferns
Tuber vs Boston Spores
Here are two ferns that drive me crazy. The Tuberous (left) and Boston (right) Sword Ferns have much in common, yet can be told apart by touch. The upper midvein of the Tuberous Sword Fern’s leaflet has two raised ridges that can be easily felt. Non of the other four have this feature.
The Tuberous also has…tubers. Just pull a few up by the roots and these marble sized golden colored tubers will be left dangling. This weed often grows in Cabbage Palm boots.
Notice how the leaflets are very close on the Tuberous, yet farther apart on the Boston. The tip of the Auricle on the Boston will not touch the midvein of the leaflet above it on the same side when viewing the lower half of the leaf. It may come very close on the upper portion though.
The upper Auricle of the Tuberous curves inward and covers the Rachis next to it. It also touches the midvein of the leaflet above it.
You may also notice that the leaflets of the Tuberous are smaller, two inches, than the Boston, three inches. And, again, that these leaflets are closer together near the petiole (lower portion) than on the Boston.
The fronds of the Tuberous can be three feet tall and three inches wide compared to the Boston that can be close to five feet tall and up to six inches wide, though averaging around four to five.
So, how to quickly tell the difference between these ferns at a glance, which makes removing the Asian and Tuberous Sword Ferns quicker?
Touch the upper midvein of the small fern with tight leaflets and if you feel a ridge, pull some up and confirm it has tubers. Also, look for the upward pointing Auricle that covers the Rachis and touches the midvein of the leaflet above it. You have Tuberous Sword Fern.
The Auricle of the Boston and Tuberous looks like a wedge and is similar to the side view of a penguin’s head. Boston will not touch the midvein of the leaf above it when viewing the lower half of the leaf. Some leaflets come very close near the top.
With a hand lens you will see the ridge of hairs on the leaflet’s midvein on the Asian and Giant.
Even from a distance you will notice that the leaflets on the Giant Sword Fern are fairly far apart, long and wavy. Some may be similar to the Asian, so look at several. The older leaves will be quite tall on the Giant Sword Fern, often reaching five or more feet. In swamps they may reach up to 16 feet.
Look for the spores and they should be in from the leaflet’s edge on the Giant, showing some green space, and right on the edge on the Asian. With a hand lens, notice the distinct larger round and smaller pointed teeth on the leaflet’s edge of the Giant. This will help you tell the difference between The Giant and the very similar Asian Sword Ferns.
The Asian will have the dark brown Scales near the base of younger leaves and also on the below ground rhizomes. If you reach down and pull upward on the base of a young leaf, you will have a mat of very dark fuzz (scales) from the Asian and lighter fuzz from the other ferns. Make sure the leaf is dry so that the fuzz on the others doesn’t appear dark from moisture.
Now, you can pull up the invasive Asian and Tuberous Sword Ferns in your yard and replace them with the native Boston and Giant Sword Ferns. Of course there are Marsh, Swamp, Goldenfoot, and Giant Leather Ferns to use as well.
Pineland Croton
Croton linearis
Pineland Croton is also called Grannybush. It can be found naturally in the lower Keys up to Big Pine Key. Then the Rocklands of Dade County, including Longpine Key, and sparingly up to St. Lucie County. I have found it within Juno Hills preserve about 200 feet from the ocean protected from salt air and water by other hammock species.
This is an attractive round shrub with linear leaves that can vary in size up to two inches long and a half inch wide. The top of the leaf is dark green and the underside is silvery. Three feet is the common height, yet some may reach six feet.
Each plant is either male or female. The female flowers have a small nub of a fruit and almost no petal. These develop into a three parted, quarter inch round pod that throws the seeds several feet away when ripe.
This plant needs full sun and dry soil with only a moderate amount of organic matter and nutrients. You will also notice some seedlings coming up near the parent, if you have male and female plants together. You can dig up and move the young plants and expect them to survive for at least ten years.
The rare Florida Leafwing butterfly and Bartram’s Scrub Hairstreak use this plant as a larval food. The flowers of the male plant especially attracts many kinds of butterflies and other insects. This is a must in the background of a sunny butterfly garden. Do not let children chew on the seeds, this is related to Castor Bean.
Pineland Croton is a great plant to add to a pineland or back of the dune beach planting. Try mixing with Beach Sunflower, Spiderwort, Coontie, Spiderlily, Necklacepod, Gaillardia, Beach Elder, Sea Lavender, Bay Cedar, Horizontal Cocoplum, Inkberry, Beach Verbena, Seaside Joyweed, White Indigoberry and other beach plants.
Pine Rockland plants to mix include Silver Palm, Slash Pine, Saw Palmetto, Chapman’s Cassia, Coontie, Key Thatch and many more.
Muhlygrass or Hairawnmuhly or just Hairgrass is found throughout much of the eastern and central U.S. in moist, slightly acid to mildly alkaline soils. These include the marl prairies of Everglades National Park, moist pinelands with limerock near the surface, and vast low areas on the west coast of Florida near the Gulf.
It is surprisingly tolerant of salt air and some salt water flooding and can live in marl prairies with months of shallow freshwater flooding.
The thin leaves are smooth and won’t cut you when pulled. They will trip you if planted near a walkway though. These reach a height of about two feet, with the flower heads rising to almost three feet before bending over.
The Gullah people of Georgia and South Carolina use a different species called Sweetgrass or Gulf muhly grass mixed with Longleaf Pine needles and palm leaf strips to make their famous baskets. This species is a bit taller and grows from North Florida through North and South Carolina. Click for more info.
The flowering season is in early fall with masses of billowing pink flowers waving in the slightest breeze. It gives movement to the landscape and looks like pink snow when covered with early morning dew.
In early spring you can either light a match to the base and burn off the old leaves, and new ones too, or put on gloves and gently pull around the base to break off the mass of dead leaves accumulated there.
Or just pull the leaves up straight and cut at the base. Careful, because it is easily uprooted. Place the cut leaves around each plant to provide mulch and suppress weeds. No need to cart this resource away. This works!
Although interesting as small groups mixed with wildflowers and other plants, Pink Muhlygrass is fantastic in a flowing mass. Just plant around two feet apart so that there is little room for weeds to fill in between the plants. Torpedo Grass can be a real problem if not eradicated before planting.
Sand Cordgrass, Fakahatchee Grass, Dwarf Fakahatchee Grass and Andropogon species do well when layered with Muhly Grass. It is also a good soil binder on easily eroded slopes. Mix in some Seaside goldenrod, various mallow species and other tall wildflowers like Narrowleaf Sunflower and Carolina aster for color.
Florida Gamagrass is also known as Dwarf Fakahatchee Grass. It is naturally found in the Pine Rocklands of Dade and Monroe Counties. It is not tolerant of salt water or air, yet is very drought tolerant once established.
This picture is of planted Florida Gamagrass along the edge of occasionally flooded pinelands on our property. The soil is nutrient poor and floods for up to three weeks, yet is moist to dry most of the year.
The leaves spread out into a wide mound that is under two feet tall and has numerous nut like seeds on three foot or less stalks. Birds eat the seeds which form in the spring.
The old leaves will need to be pulled or burned off when they build up to an unsightly level. These old leaves, which hold disease, may smoother and kill the plant. Otherwise the plants will live for many years.
This is a larval host for the Byssus Skipper, which uses Eastern Gamagrass too in other areas of the country. This is an endangered butterfly and should be provided more places to reproduce. Click for more info..
This, Lopsided Indiangrass and a number of Andropogon species make nice clumps that can be inter planted with wildflowers. Personally, I like to plant this grass near pine trees where they get almost full sun and a raised, drier area to grow on. Masses look nice too though.
Try blending with Muhly grass, Fakahatchee Grass, Scrub Goldenrod, Saw Palmetto, Coontie, Tetrazygia, Winged Sumac, Lopsided Indiangrass, Key’s Porterweed, Snow Squarestem and other Pine Rockland plants.
Partridge Pea is found throughout Florida and North America in dry, sandy soil both inland and on sand dunes. I have even found colonies of it just out of reach of the ocean in New Smyrna Beach, Florida.
Plants near the ocean seem to grow shorter (under two feet) than the inland ones which can be up to five feet tall. Both last one year and will come back from seed if pods are opened and the seeds scratched into the soil surface. Make sure the pods have seeds that rattle inside them or else you will have empty weevil eaten seeds.
The cloudless sulfur, sleepy orange, orange sulphur, little yellow, gray hairstreak and ceraunus blue butterflies lay their eggs on this plant.
Quail and other seed eating birds eat the seeds and deer eat the leaves. The roots put nitrogen into the soil making poor soils richer. Many species of bees, including bumblebees, and butterflies visit the flowers. The plants used to quake with all the bumblebees nectaring on them, but now we have almost no bumblebees in South Florida.
Partridge Pea mixes well with Salvia, Southern Beebalm, Dune Sunflower, Gaillardia and Beach Creeper. Also, mix in Chapman’s Cassia, Beach Grasses, Keys Lily, Coontie, Spiderwort Florida Keys Thoroughwort and other coastal and pineland plants.
This endangered native passionvine is found mainly in the upper Keys. It does well in Palm Beach County and can take near freezing temperatures. The three inch leaves have short, soft hairs on them. Not tolerant of saltwater flooding or salt air.
This is a fast grower that will climb up the nearest tree and pour down from its branches. The small white flowers are in dense clusters and give off a sweet fragrance; stand down wind for a treat. Many pollinators visit the flowers and birds pick off the pellet sized berries.
The vines live for decades and the stems become quite thick over time, yet there is no underground suckering. Control of this vine is easy with occasional trimming.
Grows well in moderately fertile soil and takes drought very well. Plant next to a tree, fence or even in a hanging basket where you can easily watch butterflies lay their eggs. These will develop into butterflies over a few weeks.
Zebra longwings, gulf fritillaries and Julia butterflies lay many eggs on this vine. If you have a few butterflies around, they will soon become quite plentiful. In summer the vines are alive with hovering female butterflies looking for new growth to lay their eggs on.
The male zebra longwings mate with the female just before she emerges from her chrysalid. There are often several hovering around her. Sometimes zebra longwings and gulf fritillaries become so excited by this plant that they…well, see this picture. Shocking, isn’t it?
Julia butterflies were rare in our yard until we planted this vine. Now they are regulars.
If the yard has Firebush, Bloodberry, Salvia, Keys Thoroughwort and other nectar sources, there will be many butterflies from spring to winter.
Snow Squarestem is normally under two feet tall. The small white flowers are showy, yet a bit sparse. They make up for this by the number of butterflies that they attract. The small seeds are likely used by seed eating birds.
Dry or moist soil in full sun will produce a compact plant that lasts for at least a year. Some self seeding will occur, yet it is well behaved.
Snow Squarestem grows throughout all of Florida up the East Coast to Illinois. It can take moderate salt air but no salt water flooding. It is very drought tolerant once established.
This plant makes a nice mix with the blue flowered key’s Porterweed, Salvia, Southern Beebalm, Gaillardia, Pineland Petunia, Seaside Goldenrod, Beach or Tampa Verbena and other low, bunching flowers, grasses and ferns. Use it as a component of a pineland planting where Beautyberry, Saw Palmetto, low grasses and other pineland plants are used.
There are other taller, up to six feet tall, or shorter local species including the 10 inch tall, mounding, Everglades Squarestem, which is also called Pineland Blackanthers. This little plant has lots of flowers and attracts many butterflies. It lasts a year or more and requires a longer period of watering before becoming fully established. Click for more info.
There are moderate numbers of Snow Squarestem out in western Palm Beach County. Look for it in our natural areas. Down in the Keys, I have noticed a six foot tall form with three inch leaves that is weedy looking, but attracts many butterflies.
In the pinelands, the 10 inch tall Pineland Blackanthers is found among Chapman’s Cassia, Pineland Snowberry, Quailberry, Porterweed, Locustberry and Beach Creeper along the edges of larger and within smaller solution holes.
A thorough knowledge of Rockland plants will give you unique ideas for landscaping.
Maypop Passionflower is found from Florida to Pennsylvania and west to Texas. It likes dry soil in full sun and tends to set the most fruit when climbing on something.
Climbing may help it become more available to carpenter and bumblebees which are its primary pollinators. We no longer have these pollinators in South Florida, which explains why fruit set is nearly zero down here. You can hand pollinate the flowers yourself with a soft brush. The flowers only live for one day, so get out early to do this.
The leaves normally have three palm shaped leaflets, but may have five. There are two glands, or bumps, where the leaf stem meets the leaflets. The similar looking Passiflora incense is a hybrid of Passiflora incarnata x P. cinccinata – which is from South America.
Incense Passiflora has five leaflets and the glands are midway down the leaf petiole (stem). This is commonly sold in stores and suckers too freely. It becomes a nuisance and gets a virus that ruins its appearance. Click for more info. Maypop sends up some root suckers too, but they stay closer to the main plant.
Both the Maypop Passionflower and Incense Passiflora have purple flowers, so look for the leaf lobes and glands to identify the two.
As you can see in this picture, zebra longwing caterpillars love the leaves and will strip the plant clean. Gulf fritillaries often lay their eggs on this plant. Sometimes you can locate a population of Maypop while driving by sunny fields, canal banks or other open areas by noticing the groups of fritillaries hovering around them.
Although this plant prefers dry soil, I have grown it in areas that have short periods of shallow flooding during the rainy season. It dies back to the ground during the winter, yet always seems to have some above ground growth. The vines will grow thirty feet during the growing season.
Try this plant in several areas of your yard until you find a location where they come back each year. This is a great plant to have for butterflies and for you to eat the sweet fruit.
Try a mix of Maypop, Corky and White Flowered Passionvine to provide a larval paradise for zebra longwings, gulf fritillaries and Julia butterflies. It may take a while, but you will have an amazing number of these butterflies in your yard.
Marsh Fern or Eastern Marsh Fern is found in the eastern half of the U.S. and Canada. It likes moist sunny to moderately shady locations and rarely gets over 18 inches tall.
The leaves are light green with some soft hairs on the veins. It also has a nice grassy smell when crushed. For a full description click here.
The root system is a tight tangle of rhizomes that spread slowly. They are thick enough to hold moisture during short periods of drought. It is rare that this plant will wander too far from the planting site. Just pull the escapees and plant somewhere else.
The picture above is from a shady doorway planting that only gets water during drought. It has done well for over six years now. I also mixed it with Swamp, Goldenfoot and Giant Leather ferns in a swamp planting on the eastern side of the house.
This location is normally fairly dry and gets occasional watering. Walking along the path through the ferns, Florida Elm, Myrsine, Swamp Dogwood, Dahoon Holly, Swamp Redbay, Water Hickory, Basketgrass and other wetland species is very relaxing.
The Marsh Fern Moth caterpillar may chew up some of your young leaves, but I have only seen one infestation and it ended on its own. The dense growth also provides cover for birds and other wildlife.
The young leaves boiled are also considered edible although I have not tried them yet. Please read up before eating anything I recommend. Click for more info.
Lyre Leaved Sage
Salvia lyrata
Lyre Leaved or Lyreleaf Sage is native to most of the Eastern U.S. down to Martin County. There is a lot of it along the Florida Turnpike south of Orlando. Get out of your car and look down.
The leaves are shaped like a fiddle (Lyre) and are up to eight inches long, but usually around Four. The rosette of leaves is only six inches tall and makes a low groundcover.
Lots of seedlings come up if the plant is allowed to seed. Whole areas of the yard may be covered with seedlings and these mix well with other low wildflowers for a mixed lawn.
I grow it with Sunshine Mimosa, Fogfruit and Browne’s Savory in the parking area of my yard. Moderate car and foot traffic are fine. The edge of my shady lawn is blue with the flowers in late winter and spring. I’m sure the painted buntings and other seed eating birds are feeding on it. They like the immature Red Salvia seed.
This is also a good steamed vegetable. Click for more info. It has a mild minty flavor and is said to be slightly laxative, so try a little at a time.
My experience with this plant is that it lasts for years, comes up readily from seed and may occasionally need to be pulled, although I have never had to.
It is not salt tolerant, but will grow in moist to dry soil in full sun to fairly deep shade.
This is the perfect plant to spread around the neighborhood when no one is looking. Just scatter a few in the community swale. Some will love you for it and you “have no idea where they came from” for the rest.
