Built by Mike Breiding using AI - July 2026

WV Ferns
A Checklist of the Ferns of West Virginia

A Searchable and Sortable Fern List

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This checklist was compiled from the following sources: WVU Herbarium records, iNaturalist records, and information contained in the book "Ferns, Spikemosses, Clubmosses, and Quillworts of Eastern North America" by Emily Sessa. For the most part, the nomenclature used to compile this list follows that in Sessa's book.

This checklist will allow you to accomplish the following using the Export Bar or the Green Button
• Sort any of the columns to suit your personal preferences.
• Save your Checklist to a CVS file by choosing the "Exort CVS" option.
• Copy your Checklist by choosing the "Copy Plain Text" to the pasteboard
• Save you checklist as a web page by choosing "Download Web Page"
• The Green Button also has a Text Search option so you can "jump" to a particular species.
• Search for information on the selected species simply by clicking or tapping the search button of your choice.
Here is more information about the search options.

G=Google P=PteridoPortal S=SERNEC W=WikiPedia G=GBIG i=iNaturalist

Google Search

Runs an expansive broad-web inquiry to gather multi-source field guides and relevant research platforms.

PteridoPortal

Accesses West Virginia fern records to aggregated digital imagery, voucher collections, and West Virginia herbarium datasets.

SERNEC Portal

Accesses West Virginia fern records from the SouthEast Regional Network of Expertise and Collections web site.

WikiPedia

Opens collaborative encylopedic profiles detailing morphology, distribution ranges, and ecological data.

GBIF

Queries the Global Biodiversity Information Facility to access global open-access taxonomic records, georeferenced points, and point distribution mapping.

iNaturalist

Launches a West Virrginia fern search.

Concerning fern names: there have been significant changes in fern classification over the last few decades. This can make it more challenging when accessing resources that may not be using the current scientific names.

The column categories are mostly self explanatory. What may not be are the PAGE-S and PAGE-F columns. These refer to the page number in Sessa's book and may be helpful for a quick look-up on that Species or Family.