| Southern shield fern
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| Thelypteris kunthii
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| Thelypteridaceae
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Landscape Uses:
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Accent groundcover in shady areas. Identified by Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden as a native that does especially well in shade in this brochure. |
Ecological Restoration Notes: |
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| Availability: |
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Commonly available at native plant nurseries in central Florida. Available at native plant nurseries in northeast and South Florida. |
| Description: |
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Medium herbaceous fern. |
| Height: |
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Typically 1-3 feet in height. About as broad as tall. |
| Growth Rate: |
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Moderate. |
| Range: |
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Southeastern United States west to Texas and south to the Monroe County Keys; West Indies, Mexico, Central America and northern South America. Rare in the Monroe County Keys and either very rare or absent in the middle Keys. |
| Habitats: |
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A wide variety of forested ecosystems. |
| Soils: |
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Wet to moist, well-drained sandy, limestone, or organic soils, with humusy top layer; rarely on peat on tree islands in the Everglades. |
| 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 long-term flooding by salt or brackish water. |
| Salt Wind Tolerance: |
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Moderate; grows near salt water, but is protected from direct salt spray by other vegetation. |
| Drought Tolerance: |
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Moderate; generally requires moist soils, but tolerant of short periods of drought once established. |
| Light Requirements: |
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Light shade to full sun. |
| 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. Small plants are easily transplanted. |
| Comments: |
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