06. An Ornamental Plant Found Spreading Aggressively: Potential Invasiveness of Dryopteris erythrosora (Dryopteridaceae) in North America

Abstract

In the summer of 2017 while collecting plants for BIOL 3329K (Identification of Vascular Flora) at the University of North Georgia, one of the authors noticed a dense population of Dryopteris erythrosora (D.C. Eaton) Kunze in a disturbed suburban woodlot, located in Alpharetta, Georgia. A highly soriferous frond was collected from the population and later brought into the lab to be examined. The frond was confirmed as D. erythrosora, commonly called Autumn Fern or Japanese Shield Fern. Dryopteris erythrosora is an exotic fern native to Asia; it is often sold in nurseries in the United States for shade gardens and used in landscaping. A population survey at the site documented a large number of fertile fronds and the recruitment of young plants. To this point, Autumn Fern has not been considered to be invasive, but the data collected here and by other recent work suggests that D. erythrosora is capable of reproducing and maturing into well-established colonies in the wild.