Polystichum acrostichoides (Christmas fern)

University of Maryland Extension Recommended Native Plant

The Christmas fern is an evergreen fern that makes a good shade groundcover. The common name derives from its evergreen fronds, which are often still green at Christmastime. It grows 2' tall in part shade to full shade in moist to drier soil. It has lovely silvery fiddleheads in the Spring. It is an upright fern with dark green leathery fronds. The clumps increase in size over time. Christmas ferns are good for woodland gardens, shady perennial borders, and massing on slopes for erosion control.

The Christmas fern is native to eastern North America, from Nova Scotia west to Minnesota and south to Florida and eastern Texas. It is one of the most common ferns in eastern North America, being found in moist and shady habitats in woodlands, stream banks, and rocky slopes. It can conserve soil and allay erosion of steep slopes. The fronds are semi-erect until the first killing frost, after which they lie prostrate on the ground and effectively hold in place the duff layer of the forest floor, enabling the gradual decomposition of the duff into humus, which in turns builds the soil.