Index / Search / Osmunda regalis

§1 Plant

Osmunda regalis L.

vernacular royal fern — species · Osmundaceae


USDA
OSRE
GBIF
8049341
Rank
species
royal fern (Osmunda regalis)
Platephotograph · Janet WrightCC BY-NC source · iNaturalist ↗

§2Habit & range

Habit and range

Growth habit
Forb/herb
Duration
Perennial
Group
Fern
Family
Osmundaceae Martinov
Genus
Osmunda
§2a

Native status, by region

  • CAN Canada Native
  • L48 Lower 48 States Native
  • SPM St. Pierre & Miquelon Native
§2b

County-level range

· 4 counties across 1 state
Legend Native · 4 Introduced · 0 Both · 0 Hover a county for detail.

§3Cultivation specs · USDA

Recorded by the USDA Plant Materials Program.

§3a

Tolerances

Drought
Low
Shade
Low
Moisture use
High
Fire
Low
Salinity
None
Anaerobic
Medium
CaCO₃
Low
Hedging
Low
§3b

Climate & soil

Cold tolerance
-38 °F minimum
Frost-free days
110 min.
Precipitation
32–55 in/yr
pH range
4–6
Root depth
16 in min.
Fertility need
High
Soil texture
coarse, medium, fine
§3c

Form & growth

Growth form
Rhizomatous
Growth rate
Moderate
Lifespan
Long
Mature height
6 ft
Foliage texture
Fine
Foliage colour
Dark Green
Porosity (summer)
Dense
Porosity (winter)
Porous
Fire resistant
No
N fixation
None
Toxicity
None
§3d

Reproduction

Seed abundance
None
Spread rate
None
Stratify
No
Propagation
seed, cuttings, container, sprigs
§3e

Use & availability

Commercial availability
Routinely Available
Nursery stock
No
Palatable, human
Yes
Lumber
No
Christmas tree
No

§4Counties, by state

Recorded in 4 counties across 1 state.


§5Sources & provenance

USDA PLANTS

Symbol, taxonomy, distribution, cultivation specs, native status. Public domain.

plants.usda.gov/OSRE ↗

GBIF Backbone

Canonical taxonomic identity, synonym resolution, cross-refs. CC0.

gbif.org/species/8049341 ↗

Record version

Cached and built locally. Source version on this record:

usda-plants-mt-2026-05-25

fetched 2026-05-25T18:27:19Z