Athyrium is a genus of 180 species of terrestrial ferns, so strictly speaking is not a wildflower because it produces no blooms. It is native to moist woodland and forest in temperate and tropical regions around the world. Growing from a rhizome, the plants may be 6″ to 6′ tall and most have deciduous, feather, finely divided foliage. The fronds (=leaves) may be pinnate, three-pinnate, or pinnatifid and the stips (=stems) are often hairy or scaly at the base and may be grooved or smooth. Instead of producing seeds in fruit like flowering plants, ferns produce spores in sori (singular, sorus). The sori are located on the underside of the fronds, are usually linear or curved and are usually covered by a covering called an indusium, that is often curved or J-shaped.
Athyriums like shade or filtered light and moist, fertile, neutral to acidic soil. Propagation is by spores or division in spring.
The genus name, Athyrium, is from the Greek ἀ- (a-), meaning without, and the Greek word θύριον (thýrion) meaning little door, in references the plant’s indusium. The indusium of most ferns acts like a little door over the spore cases, but in Athyrium it is either absent or not shaped like a door, so the specific epithet is a misnomer.
Photo Credit: Wikipedia
The environmental conditions of the Pacific Coast have resulted in at least two species of lady fern native to the Pacific Coast but they are native to other regions of the US too. The blanket flowers described here are native to all three of the states on the Pacific Coast.
American Alpine Lady Fern (Athyrium americanum)
This clump-forming deciduous perennial fern grows from a short, thick rhizome and has thrice pinnately compound fronds that are 8-32″ long. The longest leaflets are up to 3″ long and are often folded or rolled so that the plant appears dried up. The sori are less than .04″ and lack an indusium.
Alternate/s Names: None
Native Range: Washington, Oregon, and California as well as places in the Rocky Mountain area
Habitat: Rock crevices, rocky slopes, streamsides, alpine meadows
Type: Deciduous perennial
Height: 8-32″
Bloom Time: NA
Bloom Color: NA
Light: Shade of filtered light
Soil: Rich, moist, well-drained, neutral to slightly acidic
USDA Hardiness Zones: 3-8 (?)
Photo Credit: Wikipedia
Western Lady Fern (Athyrium cyclosonum)
Considered by some experts to be a variety of east coast lady fern, western lady fern is typically larger and lighter in color. The fronds are 2-3 times pinnately compound and grow in loose vase-like tufts. The sori with their indusia are elongated and curved in a horse-shoe shape.
Alternate/s Names: None
Native Range: Washington, Oregon, and California as well as places in the Rocky Mountain area, Southwest, and Midwest.
Habitat: Swamps, streambanks, thickets, and moist woodlands and meadows
Type: Deciduous perennial
Height: 1- 6′
Bloom Time: NA
Bloom Color: NA
Light: Shade
Soil: Average, consistently moist
USDA Hardiness Zones: 3-8 (?)
Photo Credit: inaturalist
The three states of the Pacific coast, Washington, Oregon and California, have a great variety of geography and climate. The key factors uniting these states are the coastline along the Pacific Ocean and the presence of numerous mountain ranges. The area of the Pacific coast includes rainforests as well as semi-arid plateau and deserts. The climate varies with the geography with average annual rainfall ranging from over 130″ to less than 2″. Precipitation can be in the form of rain or snow. Likewise, summer temperatures can be over 110 F in Death Valley and down to -70 F in the mountains.