Christmas fern
Polystichum acrostichoides (Michx.) Schott
- light
- Part–shade
- water
- Medium
- tall
- 61 cm
- wide
- 61 cm
Polypodiaceae
Also called Dagger fern
Formerly Aetopteron acrostichoides, Aspidium acrostichoides, Dryopteris acrostichoides, Nephrodium acrostichoides, and 1 more
When it flowers
Not known yet in the tropics: too few flowering observations to read a season from.
Read from iNaturalist photographs of it in flower. A month counts at 50% of the best month's flowering share (smoothed over three months) and 10% of its flowering count, from at least 100 flowering observations in the band.
If a child, a pet or anyone may have eaten a plant, contact a doctor or vet straight away, or call the National Poisons Information Centre (AIIMS, New Delhi) on 1800 116 117, free and open 24 hours.
Something wrong with it?About it
- Grows as
- PerennialKew's checklist, not yet checked
- Climate
- TemperateKew's checklist, not yet checked
- Wild in
- E. Canada to Mexico (Nuevo León, Tamaulipas)Kew's checklist, not yet checked
- Light
- Part shade to shade (under 6 h)Read from NC State Extension, one source
- Height
- 30 cm to 91 cmRead from NC State Extension, one source
- Spread
- 30 cm to 91 cmRead from NC State Extension, one source
- Water
- Average: moist, well drainedRead from NC State Extension, one source
- Coldest it survives
- -40 °C (USDA zone 3a)Read from NC State Extension, one source
Not known yet: flowers, heat, hottest it survives.
In other languages (12)
- root
- POLACR
- German
- Weihnachtsfarn, Dolchfarn
- French
- polystic faux-acrostic
- Russian
- Многорядник верхоплодный
- Swedish
- julbräken
- Chinese (China)
- 圣诞耳蕨
- Polish
- paprotnik akrostychowaty
- Danish
- julebregne
- Dutch
- Kerstmisvaren, Kerstvaren
- Finnish
- jouluhärkylä
- Chinese
- 裂葉澤瀉蕨(綠雲蕨), 圣诞耳蕨
- Ukrainian
- Багаторядник акростихоподібний
Where this comes from
- iNaturalist, read 2026-10-26, CC0-1.0 (observation counts)
- Wikidata, read 2026-10-25, CC0-1.0
- Kew's checklist, read 2026-10-24, CC-BY-4.0
- NC State Extension, read 2026-10-25, fact, cited
- Wikimedia Commons, read 2026-10-25, CC BY-SA 2.5
- iNaturalist, read 2026-10-26, CC BY
- iNaturalist, read 2026-10-26, CC BY
- iNaturalist, read 2026-10-26, CC BY
- 3D model: Polystichum acrostichoides (built for Vanagrha) by Vanagrha, own
A fact “checked by a majority of its sources” was settled by a vote of the pages it was read from, not by a person reading it; one marked “one source” rests on that page alone. Anything else not marked checked has not been checked yet. Where nothing is known, the page says so rather than guess.