![Marginal Woodfern, Marginal Shield-fern - Dryopteris marginalis 4](https://tnyards.utk.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/170/2021/02/dryopteris-marginalis-leaf-jh.jpg)
Common Name: Marginal Woodfern, Marginal Shield-fern
1 ½-2 feet tall by 1½-2 feet spread. Prefers part shade to medium shade but tolerates heavy shade; medium moisture level; rich, humusy soil; prefers moderately acid to neutral pH but tolerates slightly alkaline pH.
Maintenance: Low. Likes oak leaf winter cover and rather sensitive to heat. Can propagate by root division.
Growth/Colonizing Habit: A non-colonizing fern that never becomes aggressive.
Foliage: Evergreen
Native Region: East Tennessee and lightly in Middle Tennessee
Elegantly shaped, evergreen fronds that form a vase-like clump. Excellent as a specimen plant or in groups. Prefers the rocky soil of higher elevations and cooler temperatures of a north facing slope. Needs protection from wind. Occurs naturally in shaded crevices of rocky ledges and bluffs.
![Marginal Woodfern, Marginal Shield-fern - Dryopteris marginalis 3](https://tnyards.utk.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/170/2021/02/dryopteris-marginalis-leaves-lbj.jpg)
![Marginal Woodfern, Marginal Shield-fern - Dryopteris marginalis 2](https://tnyards.utk.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/170/2021/02/dryopteris-marginalis-group-lbj.jpg)
![Marginal Woodfern, Marginal Shield-fern - Dryopteris marginalis](https://tnyards.utk.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/170/2021/02/dryopteris-marginalis-leaves-with-spores-wiki.jpg)