Osmunda regalis L.
Royal fern
Royal fern is native to Asia, Europe, and Africa, but long naturalized and widespread in eastern North America. Unless, that is, you consider the North American ferns to be Osmunda spectabilis instead, as some bryologists do. Similar ferns from the same family have been found in fossils dating back 365 million years.
Identification: These deciduous, perennial ferns gradually develop a trunk of sorts, really a tangle of upright roots, up to 3′ (1 m) tall. Fronds are 1½–4′ (50–120 cm), rarely up to 13′ (4 m) long. They are bipinnate or even tripinnate, with 5-9 pairs of pinnae up to 12″ (30 cm), each with 7-13 pairs of pinna ⅞–2½ ⨉ ⅜–¾″ (2.5–6.5 ⨉ 1–2 cm). Leaf petioles are light green, light tan, or brown. Leaflets are further separated than with most ferns. They are slightly asymmetric in shape, with slight serrations. Some fronds are fertile, tipped by cinnamon- to brown-colored beadlike sporangia.
Habitats: Moist acidic soils, on bluffs or ledges, in swamps or remnant bogs, or along watercourses.
Online References:
6/12/2016 · Beaver Brook Conservation Area, Worcester Road Trail 
6/13/2021 · Cathance River Nature Preserve, Topsham, Maine · ≈ 4½ × 7″ (11 × 17 cm) 
4/11/2015 · Big Cypress Bend, Fakahatchee Strand Preserve State Park, Florida · ≈ 15 × 10″ (37 × 25 cm) 
6/12/2016 · Beaver Brook Conservation Area, Worcester Road Trail 
7/2/2017 · Wildlife Pond, Beaver Brook Conservation Area, Hollis, New Hampshire 
(There is also some Christmas fern in the background and at lower left.) · 7/3/2012 · By Jacquelyn Boyt 
6/18/2015 · Beaver Brook Conservation Area, Hollis, New Hampshire · ≈ 1½ × 1′ (47 × 31 cm) 
9/24/2010 · Nissitissit River Wildlife Management Area, Pepperell, Massachusetts · ≈ 12 × 8″ (31 × 20 cm) 
6/8/2012 · Squannacook River Wildlife Area, Townsend, Massachusetts · ≈ 8 × 12″ (20 × 31 cm) 
4/11/2015 · Big Cypress Bend, Fakahatchee Strand Preserve State Park, Florida · ≈ 10 × 7″ (25 × 16 cm) 
5/18/2021 · Cathance River Nature Preserve, Topsham, Maine · ≈ 8 × 5″ (20 × 13 cm) 
7/10/2021 · Fox East Trail, Bradbury Mountain State Park, Pownal, Maine · ≈ 8 × 5″ (20 × 13 cm) 
9/1/2010 · Beaver Brook Conservation Area, Rte. 130, Hollis, New Hampshire · ≈ 1½ × 1′ (52 × 34 cm) 
5/21/2013 · Beaver Brook Conservation Area, Hollis, New Hampshire · ≈ 15 × 10″ (37 × 25 cm) 
7/19/2012 · Beaver Brook Conservation Area, Rte. 130, Hollis, New Hampshire · ≈ 17 × 12″ (44 × 29 cm) 
6/9/2016 · Monhegan Island, Maine 
5/26/2024 · McLaughlin Garden and Homestead, South Paris, Maine 
6/13/2021 · Cathance River Nature Preserve, Topsham, Maine · ≈ 5 × 4½″ (12 × 11 cm) 
5/26/2024 · McLaughlin Garden and Homestead, South Paris, Maine 
9/18/2017 · Purgatory Falls, Mont Vernon, New Hampshire · ≈ 10 × 6″ (24 × 16 cm) 
7/15/2012 · Gordon and Kathy’s, Prospect, Maine · ≈ 16 × 12″ (39 × 29 cm) 
6/12/2016 · Beaver Brook Conservation Area, Worcester Road Trail 
9/1/2010 · Beaver Brook Conservation Area, Rte. 130, Hollis, New Hampshire · ≈ 17 × 12″ (44 × 29 cm) 
6/18/2015 · Beaver Brook Conservation Area, Hollis, New Hampshire · ≈ 2 × 1′ (59 × 39 cm) 
5/28/2017 · Wildflower Trail, Beaver Brook Conservation Area, Hollis, New Hampshire · ≈ 12 × 8″ (31 × 20 cm) 
6/8/2012 · Squannacook River Wildlife Area, Townsend, Massachusetts · ≈ 12 × 17″ (29 × 44 cm) 
9/20/2009 · Wild Gardens of Acadia, Acadia National Park, Bar Harbor, Maine · ≈ 17 × 12″ (44 × 29 cm) 
7/2/2017 · Wildlife Pond, Beaver Brook Conservation Area, Hollis, New Hampshire · ≈ 10 × 6″ (24 × 16 cm) 
8/31/2023 · Rines Forest, Cumblerland, Maine 
5/16/2025 · Center Point Preserve, Bowdoinham, Maine 
9/24/2010 · Nissitissit River Wildlife Management Area, Pepperell, Massachusetts · ≈ 14 × 9″ (35 × 23 cm) 
5/29/2010 · Maine Audubon Gilsland Farm Audubon Center, Falmouth, Maine · ≈ 17 × 12″ (44 × 29 cm) 
6/17/2025 · Devil’s Back, Orr’s Island, Maine · ≈ 9 × 6″ (21 × 14 cm) 
8/3/2025 · Saco Heath Preserve, Saco, Maine · ≈ 13 × 9″ (34 × 22 cm) 
6/13/2021 · Cathance River Nature Preserve, Topsham, Maine · ≈ 4½ × 7″ (11 × 17 cm) 
9/1/2010 · Beaver Brook Conservation Area, Rte. 130, Hollis, New Hampshire · ≈ 1½ × 1′ (52 × 34 cm) 
6/22/2023 · Florida Lake Park, Freeport, Maine 
10/2/2023 · Marsh View Loop, Ridgewell Preserve, Phippsburg, Maine 
6/12/2016 · Beaver Brook Conservation Area, Worcester Road Trail 
6/17/2025 · Devil’s Back, Orr’s Island, Maine · ≈ 1½ × 1′ (46 × 30 cm) 
7/2/2017 · Wildlife Pond, Beaver Brook Conservation Area, Hollis, New Hampshire 
7/19/2012 · Beaver Brook Conservation Area, Rte. 130, Hollis, New Hampshire · ≈ 1½ × 1′ (52 × 34 cm) 
8/17/2016 · Cider Mill Pond Trail, Hollis, Massachusetts 
7/15/2012 · Gordon and Kathy’s, Prospect, Maine · ≈ 10 × 15″ (26 × 39 cm) 
6/13/2021 · Cathance River Nature Preserve, Topsham, Maine · ≈ 13 × 9″ (33 × 22 cm) 
5/18/2021 · Cathance River Nature Preserve, Topsham, Maine · ≈ 4½ × 3″ (12 × 8 cm) 
5/18/2025 · Center Point Preserve, Bowdoinham, Maine · ≈ 4½ × 4″ (11 × 11 cm) 
6/18/2015 · Beaver Brook Conservation Area, Hollis, New Hampshire · ≈ 2½ × 1½′ (79 × 53 cm) 
10/21/2012 · By Jacquelyn Boyt 
5/18/2025 · Center Point Preserve, Bowdoinham, Maine · ≈ 6 × 7″ (15 × 18 cm) 
5/18/2025 · Center Point Preserve, Bowdoinham, Maine · ≈ 10 × 7″ (25 × 17 cm) 
6/16/2012 · Groton Place and Sabine Woods, Groton, Massachusetts · ≈ 4½ × 4″ (11 × 11 cm) 
6/18/2015 · Beaver Brook Conservation Area, Hollis, New Hampshire · ≈ 2½ × 1½′ (79 × 53 cm) 
| Kingdom | Plantae | Plants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae (from Stearn's Botanical Latin) |
| Subkingdom | Tracheobionta | Vascular plants—plants with a “circulatory system” for delivering water and nutrients |
| Division | Pteridophyta | Ferns |
| Class | Filicopsida | “Leptosporangiate” (has to do with how their spores form) ferns—includes most ferns |
| Order | Polypodiales | Polypod ferns |
| Family | Osmundaceae | Possibly derives from Osmunder, a Saxon name for the god Thor |
| Genus | Osmunda | Possibly derives from Osmunder, a Saxon name for the god Thor |
| Species | regalis | Kingly; royal |
Osmunda regalis description by Thomas H. Kent, not updated.
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