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

Struthiopteris spicant
deer fern
Blechnaceae (Chain Fern family)

Introduction to Vascular Plants

Distribution of Struthiopteris spicant
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Species Information

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Illustration Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

General:
Tufted evergreen perennial from a short, thick rhizome.

Leaves:
Dimorphic; sterile leaves evergreen, spreading, lanceolate, 10-60 cm long, 2-10 cm wide, pinnately cleft (regularly deeply lobed); fertile leaves erect, narrowly lanceolate, 20-50 cm long, 1-pinnate with linear segments up to 7 cm long, 1-2 mm wide, withering soon after shedding spores.

Notes:
Our plants are generally more robust than their European counterpart and are referred by some authors (Love & Love 1966, 1968) to the amphiberingian ssp. nipponicum (Kunze) Love & Love.

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Habitat / Range

Mesic to wet forests, peat bogs, streambanks and clearings in the lowland and montane zones; common in coastal BC, infrequent in SE BC; circumpolar, but widely disjunct, N to AK and S to ID and CA; N Africa, Eurasia.

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Ecology

Ecological Framework for Struthiopteris spicant

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)	0	262	2050
Slope Gradient (%)	0	27	350
Aspect (degrees) [0 - N; 90 - E; 180 - S; 270 - W]	0	257	360
Soil Moisture Regime (SMR) [0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic; 8 - hydric]	0	4	8
Modal Nutrient Regime Class	C
Number of field plots species was recorded in:	3493
Modal BEC Zone Class	CWH
All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in:	CDF(9), CMA(3), CWH(3181), ESSF(1), ICH(24), MH(227)
Source: Klinkenberg 2020

Status Information

Origin Status	Provincial Status	BC List (Red Blue List)	COSEWIC
Native	S5	Yellow	Not Listed

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

Synonyms and Alternate Names

Blechnum spicant (L.) Sm.

Taxonomic and Nomenclatural Links

Flora North America treatment for Blechnaceae
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

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: 2024-05-10 10:35:43 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.