| Interrupted maiden fern, Hottentot fern
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| Thelypteris interrupta
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| Thelypteridaceae
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Landscape Uses:
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Primarily recommended for natural landscapes and habitat restorations. |
Ecological Restoration Notes: |
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| Availability: |
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Grown by enthusiasts. |
| Description: |
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Large herbaceous fern. |
| Height: |
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About 3-4 feet in height. Spreads from underground stems and forms large patches. |
| Growth Rate: |
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Moderate. |
| Range: |
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Miami-Dade and Collier counties north to Brevard, Lake and Levy counties; disjunct in Liberty and Franklin counties; Louisiana; West Indies, Mexico, Central America, South America and Old World. |
| Habitats: |
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Wet hammocks and swamps. |
| Soils: |
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Seasonally wet to moist, moderately well-drained to poorly-drained organic soils. |
| Nutritional Requirements: |
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Moderate; can grow in nutrient poor soils, but needs some organic content to thrive. |
| Salt Water Tolerance: |
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Low; does not tolerate flooding by salt or brackish water. |
| Salt Wind Tolerance: |
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Low; salt wind may burn the leaves. |
| Drought Tolerance: |
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Low; requires moist to wet soils and is intolerant of long periods of drought. |
| Light Requirements: |
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Light shade. |
| Flower Color: |
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N/A. |
| Flower Characteristics: |
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There are no flowers; the plants reproduce by spores. |
| Flowering Season: |
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All year. |
| Fruit: |
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Inconspicuous spores. |
| Wildlife and Ecology: |
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| Horticultural Notes: |
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Can be grown from spores with difficulty, and division. |
| Comments: |
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