What plant is that?

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Photo credits: © Francis R. Underwood 2014

This month’s mystery plant is different from most of the other mystery plants because it has no flowers  Instead of flowers it has spores which are produced on the underside of the frond.  The fronds on this plant are leathery, tufted and evergreen, and form circular clumps. The fronds are divided into pinnae which are shaped like Christmas stockings.  The stems are often densely covered with thick scales.  This plant is found in woods and on rocky slopes

It’s. . .

Botanical Name:		Polystichum acrostichoides
Common Name:		Christmas Fern
Family:		Dryopteridaceae (Wood Fern Family)
Habitat:		Rich woods and rocky slopes