Wildflowers Found in Oregon

Sword Fern

Polystichum munitum - General: large (1.5 m tall but smaller in the north) evergreen, with erect leaves forming a crown from a stout, woody, scaly rhizome. Leaves: Stripe dry-scaly; blade lance-shaped, erect to arching, once-pinnate; leaflets alternate, pointed, sharp-toothed with incurved spine-tips, each with a small lobe pointing to the bottom. Ecology: Moist forest at low to middle elevations. There are a number of clumps of these ferns in the pasture, woodlands and our big circle and one in the front yard. They stay green all year but you need to clear out the dead branches each year to keep them looking good.