E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Flora of British Columbia

Dryopteris arguta (Kaulf.) Watt
coastal wood fern (coastal woodfern)
Dryopteridaceae (Wood Fern family)

Introduction to Vascular Plants

Distribution of Dryopteris arguta
Click here to view our interactive map and legend

Details about map content are available here
Click on the map dots to view record details.

Species Information

Click on the image below to view an expanded illustration for this species.

Illustration Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

General:
Perennial in vase-like clusters from a stout, creeping rhizome.

Leaves:
Overwintering, oblong-lanceolate, broadest in the middle and narrowed towards the top and less towards the bottom, 20-60 cm long, 5-25 cm wide, 1-pinnate, the pinnae deeply cut; segments with small, spiny teeth along the margin.

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Habitat / Range

Mesic forest margins and rocky sea cliffs in the lowland zone; rare in SW BC; S to CA, disjunct in AZ.

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Similar Species

Dryopteris arguta may be confused with Dryopteris filix-mas, which is a similar species but lacks the long spreading spine-like teeth on pinnules and the lance shaped, chestnut coloured scales on the undersides of pinnae of D. arguta. Scales on pinnae of D. filix-mas are linear or hair-like (Jamison and Douglas 1998).

Source: British Columbia Conservation Data Centre

Ecology

Ecological Framework for Dryopteris arguta

The table below shows the species-specific information calculated from
original data (BEC database) provided by the BC Ministry of Forests and Range.
(Updated August, 2013)

Site Information	Value / Class
Site Information	Minimum	Average	Maximum
Elevation (metres)	230	490	750
Slope Gradient (%)	0	27	55
Aspect (degrees) [0 - N; 90 - E; 180 - S; 270 - W]	336	335	336
Soil Moisture Regime (SMR) [0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic; 8 - hydric]	4	4	5
Modal Nutrient Regime Class	D
Number of field plots species was recorded in:	2
Modal BEC Zone Class	CWH
All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in:	CWH(1)
Source: Klinkenberg 2020

Climate

The climate type for this species, as reported in the: "British Columbia plant species codes and selected attributes. Version 6 Database" (Meidinger et al. 2008), is cool mesothermal.

Status Information

Origin Status	Provincial Status	BC List (Red Blue List)	COSEWIC
Native	S3	Blue	SC (Nov 2001)

BC Ministry of Environment: BC Species and Ecosystems Explorer, the authoritative source for conservation information in British Columbia.

Taxonomic and Nomenclatural Links

Flora North America treatment for Dryopteridaceae
Flora North America treatment for Dryopteris arguta
Genetic information (NCBI Taxonomy Database)
International Plant Names Index
Taxonomic Information from the World Flora Online
Integrated Taxonomic Information System

Additional Range and Status Information Links

Burke Museum of Natural History (Washington State records)
CalFlora
Consortium of Pacific Northwest Herbaria records
Jepson Interchange
NatureServe Explorer
USDA

Additional Photo Sources

Images From CalPhoto
UT Austin's Native Plant Database
Google Image Search
Flickr Image Search

General References

Google Scholar Search
Family References
General Botanical References for BC

Recommended citation: Author, Date. Page title. In Klinkenberg, Brian. (Editor) 2020. E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Plants of British Columbia [eflora.bc.ca]. Lab for Advanced Spatial Analysis, Department of Geography, University of British Columbia, Vancouver. [Accessed: 2024-05-17 12:39:45 PM ]

Disclaimer: The information contained in the E-Flora atlas pages is derived from expert sources as cited in each section. This information is scientifically based. E-Flora also acts as a portal to other sites via deep links. As always, users should refer to the original sources for complete information. E-Flora BC is not responsible for the accuracy or completeness of the original information.