(4) Long Beech Fern
Phegopteris Polypodiòides. Thelýpteris Phegópteris
Fronds triangular, longer than broad, four to six inches long, twice pinnatifid. Pinnæ lanceolate, acuminate, the lowest pair deflexed and standing forward; cut into oblong, obtuse segments. Fruit-dots near the margin.
Compared with the broad beech fern this is the more northern species. While usually quite distinct in structure, it sometimes approaches its sister fern rather closely.
It prefers deep woods and shaded banks. Newfoundland to Alaska and southward to the mountains of Virginia. July.