Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Archeophyta
Class: Ophioglossopsida
Order: Botrychiales
Family: Botrychiaceae
Genus: Sceptridium

Sceptridium dissectum

Common names: grape fern, oblique grape fern

• Sceptridium dissectum
• AKA: Botrychium dissectum, B. obliquum
• Range: Eastern North America
• Chromosome count: n=45
• Confused with:
• Botrypus virginianum
• Sceptridium biternatum

Like other ophioglossoid ferns, the grape fern usually only sends up one frond per year, with a spore stalk that branches off the frond at or near the ground level.

This plant prefers successional and second-growth areas, such as old fields, thickets, and young, open woods. It is often found in association with ground cedar, Diphasiastrum digitatum.

The grape fern seems to have its seasons confused: the new frond emerges in summer, and dies in the spring to early summer. Through the winter, it often becomes a bronze color.

The grape fern can be grown in the garden, but only with difficulty. It MUST be transplanted with its roots intact in its own soil, and needs protection from slugs.