Marginal wood fern (Dryopteris marginalis) — Plotwright

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Marginal wood fern

Habit (mature) · Krzysztof Ziarnek, Kenraiz / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0

Limited coverage

Marginal wood fern

Dryopteris marginalis

A native evergreen fern with leathery dark blue-green fronds in upright vase-shaped clumps. Among the most drought-tolerant native ferns — useful for drier-shade settings where most other ferns fail. The "marginal" name refers to sori (spore clusters) carried at the leaflet margins. Evergreen through winter in zones 5+; reliably long-lived (20-30+ years).

Native: 32 US states + 4 CA provinces

Review: Source-backed

Climate fit: broad (83/100)

Filler

Border

Structure

Light

Part shade

Water

Moderate water

Mature size

18-36" tall · 24" apart

Hardy in zones

3a-8b

brutally cold to frosty winters

Summer heat range

Cool-Hot

cool to hot summers Interim Plotwright tier until the plant AHS range is authored.

Native in Illinois

Yes

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Native across 36 US states and Canadian provinces — a wide-ranging part of North America's plant communities.

Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center

Cold hardiness

Now

Zone 6b

USDA

Chicago, IL · 1991-2020 average annual coldest day

Source: USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map 2023 (1991-2020 climatology) via ArcGIS FeatureServer

Well-suited

2050

Zone 7b

Plotwright

Your zone + climate-model shift · SSP3-7.0 (regional rivalry)

Well-suited

In plain terms: cold winters — coldest nights typically around -3°F.

✓

Well-suited today and still thriving in 2050.

Heat tolerance

°C

°F

Loading current AHS heat-zone and plant heat-fit data at your coordinates…

Where this plant fits

Suitable across 40 ecoregions — 35 climate-resilient through 2070 · 5 suited today. Best matches first.

Appalachian mixed mesophytic forests

Appalachian-Blue Ridge forests

Arizona Mountains forests

Blue Mountains forests

Canadian Aspen forests and parklands

Central Pacific Northwest coastal forests

Central Tallgrass prairie

Central-Southern Cascades Forests

Colorado Rockies forests

Cross-Timbers savanna-woodland

Sources & citations

Cite this page

For lesson plans, articles, or research that uses this page. To cite a single upstream fact instead, use its specific source listed below.

Plotwright. (2026, May 17). Marginal wood fern (Dryopteris marginalis). Retrieved 2026, June 5, from https://plotwright.garden/plants/marginal-wood-fern

Sources for every fact

Every fact on this page traces to a source. 18 fields cited — 18 source-backed.

NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox

University extension service

Backs 17 fields

Identity

Summary

Plant type

Light

Moisture

Hardiness

Heat zone

Size

Spacing

Habit

Design roles

Seasonal interest

Growth stages

Lifecycle

Regional guidance

Success tips

Designer notes

Wikimedia Commons

Photo · CC BY-SA 4.0

Backs 1 field

Image

Community photos

The photos above are our reviewed reference set, curated for accuracy.

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