The Remarkable Increase in the Invasive Autumn Fern, <i>Dryopteris erythrosora</i>, One of the World’s Most Marketed Ferns, in Eastern North America
Autumn fern, <i>Dryopteris erythrosora</i>, is the most marketed temperate fern in the world. The rapid increase and spread of this recently naturalized fern in North America was determined and mapped using 76 herbarium specimen records and 2553 Research Grade iNaturalist posts. In 2008,...
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MDPI AG
2025-08-01
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| Series: | Plants |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/14/15/2369 |
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| author | Robert W. Pemberton Eduardo Escalona |
| author_facet | Robert W. Pemberton Eduardo Escalona |
| author_sort | Robert W. Pemberton |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Autumn fern, <i>Dryopteris erythrosora</i>, is the most marketed temperate fern in the world. The rapid increase and spread of this recently naturalized fern in North America was determined and mapped using 76 herbarium specimen records and 2553 Research Grade iNaturalist posts. In 2008, it was recorded in two states, but by 2025, it was found in 25 states in the eastern United States and Ontario, Canada. At the end of 2017, there had been only 23 iNaturalist posts, but this grew to 511 by the end of 2020 and 2553 by May 2025. The great increase in the number of iNaturalist posts is thought to be due to the real geographic spread and an actual increase in the abundance of the fern, as well as recognition of the fern by iNaturalists, and the increase in the number of iNaturalists. The spread and great increase are probably related to the high level of marketing, which introduces plants to the environment, and to biological characteristics of the fern, including apogamy and polyploidy, and possibly natural enemy release, which allows it to flourish in new environments and to displace native plants. This novel study demonstrated citizen science’s (iNaturalist’s) great value in detecting the naturalization and spread of alien plants. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-9afcd7e397784c5584c73d22a26f37c3 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2223-7747 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-08-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Plants |
| spelling | doaj-art-9afcd7e397784c5584c73d22a26f37c32025-08-20T03:36:27ZengMDPI AGPlants2223-77472025-08-011415236910.3390/plants14152369The Remarkable Increase in the Invasive Autumn Fern, <i>Dryopteris erythrosora</i>, One of the World’s Most Marketed Ferns, in Eastern North AmericaRobert W. Pemberton0Eduardo Escalona1Independent Researcher, 2275 1st Ave. NE, Atlanta, GA 30317, USAIndependent Researcher, E 6323 S Rosebury Ave 1 W, Saint Louis, MO 63105, USAAutumn fern, <i>Dryopteris erythrosora</i>, is the most marketed temperate fern in the world. The rapid increase and spread of this recently naturalized fern in North America was determined and mapped using 76 herbarium specimen records and 2553 Research Grade iNaturalist posts. In 2008, it was recorded in two states, but by 2025, it was found in 25 states in the eastern United States and Ontario, Canada. At the end of 2017, there had been only 23 iNaturalist posts, but this grew to 511 by the end of 2020 and 2553 by May 2025. The great increase in the number of iNaturalist posts is thought to be due to the real geographic spread and an actual increase in the abundance of the fern, as well as recognition of the fern by iNaturalists, and the increase in the number of iNaturalists. The spread and great increase are probably related to the high level of marketing, which introduces plants to the environment, and to biological characteristics of the fern, including apogamy and polyploidy, and possibly natural enemy release, which allows it to flourish in new environments and to displace native plants. This novel study demonstrated citizen science’s (iNaturalist’s) great value in detecting the naturalization and spread of alien plants.https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/14/15/2369citizen sciencedisplacementescaped ornamentalforestsherbarium specimensiNaturalist |
| spellingShingle | Robert W. Pemberton Eduardo Escalona The Remarkable Increase in the Invasive Autumn Fern, <i>Dryopteris erythrosora</i>, One of the World’s Most Marketed Ferns, in Eastern North America Plants citizen science displacement escaped ornamental forests herbarium specimens iNaturalist |
| title | The Remarkable Increase in the Invasive Autumn Fern, <i>Dryopteris erythrosora</i>, One of the World’s Most Marketed Ferns, in Eastern North America |
| title_full | The Remarkable Increase in the Invasive Autumn Fern, <i>Dryopteris erythrosora</i>, One of the World’s Most Marketed Ferns, in Eastern North America |
| title_fullStr | The Remarkable Increase in the Invasive Autumn Fern, <i>Dryopteris erythrosora</i>, One of the World’s Most Marketed Ferns, in Eastern North America |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Remarkable Increase in the Invasive Autumn Fern, <i>Dryopteris erythrosora</i>, One of the World’s Most Marketed Ferns, in Eastern North America |
| title_short | The Remarkable Increase in the Invasive Autumn Fern, <i>Dryopteris erythrosora</i>, One of the World’s Most Marketed Ferns, in Eastern North America |
| title_sort | remarkable increase in the invasive autumn fern i dryopteris erythrosora i one of the world s most marketed ferns in eastern north america |
| topic | citizen science displacement escaped ornamental forests herbarium specimens iNaturalist |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/14/15/2369 |
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