Phlebodium aureum
Golden Polypody
Gold Foot Fern
Hare Foot Fern
Florida native
A frequent epiphytic fern of hammocks and swamps mostly in the peninsula of Florida. The range includes some of the southernmost counties of Georgia and Alabama.
Found primarily growing in the boots (old leaf bases) of cabbage palms but occasionally on the ground. The blades are glabrous, and may be pinnately divided or lobed and having a long terminal segment with a blunt tip. The stem can be up tp 1.5cm (2/3 in.) thick and covered with reddish brown to golden lanceolate scales, having the appearance of a rabbit's foot.
Phlebodium aureum is a member of the Polypodiaceae - Polypody family.
Atlas of Florida Vascular Plants (Institute for Systemic Botany) profile for this species
USDA Plant Profile for this species
Date record last modified: Nov 26, 2021