in the PNW, we use them to treat Stinging Nettles. You rarely find nettles without ferns nearby, so it's a quick trail first aid trick to rub the spores on the nettle sting area.
If you are growing the same plant it is not Polystichum munitum (western sword fern), but instead the unrelated Nephrolepis cordifolia (tuber sword fern). I just posted about this in more detail above.
That is not Polystichum munitum (western sword fern), it is not a native species, and those "balls" are called tubers. Tubers are in fact the fastest & easiest characteristic I can use to prove that is not Polystichum munitum as it is a species that never has tubers. Watching your video, before you got to the tubers, I immediately saw several other differentiating characteristics. I will say in your defense, there is more than just a superficial resemblance in leaf morphology. I won't get into the subtle differences. A more useful set of characteristics are those of rhizome creep and the related more evenly spreading patterns of leaf emergence found with your species while the leaves of Polystichum munitum, which spread very little vegetative by rhizome, the leaves instead emerging in circular clusters outwardly from the centralized buried rhizome. You are instead growing Nephrolepis cordifolia (tuber sword fern). Despite the colloquial names of these two species sharing the common root "sword fern", they are not actually related. They are not related as sword ferns anyway as they belong to entirely different fern families that contain other genera not considered "sword ferns". Specifically, the genus Polystichum is in the woodfern family (Dryopteridaceae) and the genus Nephrolepis belongs to the Boston fern family (Nephrolepidaceae). The name "sword fern" has instead been applied to these unrelated species due to their similarities in leaf shape. While Polystichum munitum is native to the Americas, Nephrolepis cordifolia is a nonnative invasive. It is instead a species native to north-eastern Australia. Horticulture has moved Nephrolepis cordifolia all over the world where it has unfortunately widely escaped cultivation. In the Americas it grows as a naturalized nonnative in Florida, West Indies; Mexico; Central America; and South America. In Florida, it is a major problem as a nonnative invasive species due to its aggressive spread outcompeting native plants. You also mentioned the colloquial name "Boston fern", seemingly regarding it a synonym to "western sword fern" . They are not synonyms and the species you show us is neither of the two. Boston fern refers to Nephrolepis exaltata, a native species of Florida and the West Indies. The species you show us, Nephrolepis cordifolia, is closely related in the same family and genus, but Boston fern would still be a misidentification. While there are strong similarities between Nephrolepis exaltata and N. cordifolia, they are also easy to tell apart. One easy key difference you showed us were the underground tubers. Nephrolepis exaltata never has those while Nephrolepis cordifolia often does. When finding potential Nephrolepis exaltata, as opposed to the bad idea of digging up a bunch of wild natives looking for tubers, there are easy differences that serve those identification purposes better, but for these purposes that characteristic makes clear you have Nephrolepis cordifolia, not a Boston fern (Nephrolepis exaltata) or the western sword fern (Polystichum munitum) for that matter either, as neither of those two ever have tubers.
I love that you wrote this, thank you. I am trying to determine what the 3 ferns I have are- so I know if I can leave them out for the winter or not- I live in zone 8. Western Sword ferns can live in this zone but the Australian sword fern will die. I think you are saying this video is showing the Australian or Tuber as you called it. I used to have one in a pot and it grew to be so huge and looked just like the fern in this video and I took it in for the winter ( but my house burned down) I miss that fern so much!! So I have these ferns now that look similar but were unlabeled so I am trying to find out the difference. I believe they appear to be the western sword, so I can leave them outside, thanks again for writing this comment! And thanks to the dude who made this video- your fern is so pretty! Reminds me so much of mine that I lost and miss so much...
Back in 1986 I dug up a sword fern from the local mountain forest (western Oregon coastal mountains) and planted it in my yard. Judging from the forest where it had grown I assumed it was already an old plant when I took it home, but thirty-five years later it is still growing quite well. It just gets a little bigger every year. I wonder how long a sword fern lives. I would be shocked if mine is less than a hundred years old now. I wonder if anyone knows what their life span is...
in the PNW, we use them to treat Stinging Nettles. You rarely find nettles without ferns nearby, so it's a quick trail first aid trick to rub the spores on the nettle sting area.
Nice! Plants are amazing!
Thank you for the help. this video is great information about sword ferns.
:)
I probably have relocated 100 of them. Very durable plants.
Awesome, they are tough.
I have this growing in a pot on my side patio. It's been here for years. Didn't know what it was. Looks exactly like yours. Thanks for the info!
They are great plants! Thanks for watching.
If you are growing the same plant it is not Polystichum munitum (western sword fern), but instead the unrelated Nephrolepis cordifolia (tuber sword fern). I just posted about this in more detail above.
That is not Polystichum munitum (western sword fern), it is not a native species, and those "balls" are called tubers. Tubers are in fact the fastest & easiest characteristic I can use to prove that is not Polystichum munitum as it is a species that never has tubers.
Watching your video, before you got to the tubers, I immediately saw several other differentiating characteristics. I will say in your defense, there is more than just a superficial resemblance in leaf morphology. I won't get into the subtle differences. A more useful set of characteristics are those of rhizome creep and the related more evenly spreading patterns of leaf emergence found with your species while the leaves of Polystichum munitum, which spread very little vegetative by rhizome, the leaves instead emerging in circular clusters outwardly from the centralized buried rhizome.
You are instead growing Nephrolepis cordifolia (tuber sword fern). Despite the colloquial names of these two species sharing the common root "sword fern", they are not actually related. They are not related as sword ferns anyway as they belong to entirely different fern families that contain other genera not considered "sword ferns". Specifically, the genus Polystichum is in the woodfern family (Dryopteridaceae) and the genus Nephrolepis belongs to the Boston fern family (Nephrolepidaceae). The name "sword fern" has instead been applied to these unrelated species due to their similarities in leaf shape.
While Polystichum munitum is native to the Americas, Nephrolepis cordifolia is a nonnative invasive. It is instead a species native to north-eastern Australia. Horticulture has moved Nephrolepis cordifolia all over the world where it has unfortunately widely escaped cultivation. In the Americas it grows as a naturalized nonnative in Florida, West Indies; Mexico; Central America; and South America. In Florida, it is a major problem as a nonnative invasive species due to its aggressive spread outcompeting native plants.
You also mentioned the colloquial name "Boston fern", seemingly regarding it a synonym to "western sword fern" . They are not synonyms and the species you show us is neither of the two. Boston fern refers to Nephrolepis exaltata, a native species of Florida and the West Indies. The species you show us, Nephrolepis cordifolia, is closely related in the same family and genus, but Boston fern would still be a misidentification.
While there are strong similarities between Nephrolepis exaltata and N. cordifolia, they are also easy to tell apart. One easy key difference you showed us were the underground tubers. Nephrolepis exaltata never has those while Nephrolepis cordifolia often does. When finding potential Nephrolepis exaltata, as opposed to the bad idea of digging up a bunch of wild natives looking for tubers, there are easy differences that serve those identification purposes better, but for these purposes that characteristic makes clear you have Nephrolepis cordifolia, not a Boston fern (Nephrolepis exaltata) or the western sword fern (Polystichum munitum) for that matter either, as neither of those two ever have tubers.
I love that you wrote this, thank you. I am trying to determine what the 3 ferns I have are- so I know if I can leave them out for the winter or not- I live in zone 8. Western Sword ferns can live in this zone but the Australian sword fern will die. I think you are saying this video is showing the Australian or Tuber as you called it. I used to have one in a pot and it grew to be so huge and looked just like the fern in this video and I took it in for the winter ( but my house burned down) I miss that fern so much!! So I have these ferns now that look similar but were unlabeled so I am trying to find out the difference. I believe they appear to be the western sword, so I can leave them outside, thanks again for writing this comment! And thanks to the dude who made this video- your fern is so pretty! Reminds me so much of mine that I lost and miss so much...
Back in 1986 I dug up a sword fern from the local mountain forest (western Oregon coastal mountains) and planted it in my yard. Judging from the forest where it had grown I assumed it was already an old plant when I took it home, but thirty-five years later it is still growing quite well. It just gets a little bigger every year. I wonder how long a sword fern lives. I would be shocked if mine is less than a hundred years old now. I wonder if anyone knows what their life span is...
Don't get caught digging up plants from the forest!
@@barneymiller6204 It was private land, and I had permission.
Nice fern! Ferns are very Extremely Old plants they came nearly before the dinosaurs roamed the earth
Yes! Thanks for watching.