Index / Search / Polystichum munitum
§1 Plant
Polystichum munitum (Kaulf.) C. Presl
vernacular western swordfern — species · Dryopteridaceae
§2Habit & range
Habit and range
- Growth habit
- Forb/herb
- Duration
- Perennial
- Group
- Fern
- Family
- Dryopteridaceae Herter
- Genus
- Polystichum
§2a
Native status, by region
- AK Alaska Native
- CAN Canada Native
- L48 Lower 48 States Native
§2b
County-level range
· 92 counties across 6 states/territories§3Cultivation specs · USDA
Recorded by the USDA Plant Materials Program.
§3a
Tolerances
- Drought
- Low
- Shade
- Low
- Moisture use
- High
- Fire
- Medium
- Salinity
- None
- Anaerobic
- Low
- CaCO₃
- Medium
- Hedging
- None
§3b
Climate & soil
- Cold tolerance
- -33 °F minimum
- Frost-free days
- 135 min.
- Precipitation
- 16–55 in/yr
- pH range
- 5.8–7.5
- Root depth
- 14 in min.
- Fertility need
- Medium
- Soil texture
- medium
§3c
Form & growth
- Growth form
- Rhizomatous
- Growth rate
- Moderate
- Lifespan
- Long
- Mature height
- 3.5 ft
- Foliage texture
- Medium
- Foliage colour
- Dark Green
- Porosity (summer)
- Dense
- Porosity (winter)
- Moderate
- Flower colour
- Brown
- Fire resistant
- No
- N fixation
- None
- Toxicity
- None
§3d
Reproduction
- Seed abundance
- None
- Spread rate
- None
- Stratify
- No
- Propagation
- container, sprigs
§3e
Use & availability
- Commercial availability
- Contracting Only
- Nursery stock
- No
- Palatable, human
- No
- Lumber
- No
- Christmas tree
- No
§4Counties, by state
Recorded in 92 counties across 6 states/territories.
Alaska view state ↗ 2 N ▾
California view state ↗ 26 N ▾
- Alameda 06001
- Butte 06007
- Colusa 06011
- Contra Costa 06013
- Del Norte 06015
- Glenn 06021
- Humboldt 06023
- Lake 06033
- Marin 06041
- Mariposa 06043
- Mendocino 06045
- Monterey 06053
- Napa 06055
- Plumas 06063
- San Diego 06073
- San Francisco 06075
- San Luis Obispo 06079
- San Mateo 06081
- Santa Barbara 06083
- Santa Clara 06085
- Santa Cruz 06087
- Shasta 06089
- Siskiyou 06093
- Sonoma 06097
- Trinity 06105
- Yuba 06115
Idaho view state ↗ 9 N ▾
Oregon view state ↗ 26 N ▾
- Benton 41003
- Clackamas 41005
- Clatsop 41007
- Columbia 41009
- Coos 41011
- Crook 41013
- Curry 41015
- Deschutes 41017
- Douglas 41019
- Hood River 41027
- Jackson 41029
- Josephine 41033
- Klamath 41035
- Lane 41039
- Lincoln 41041
- Linn 41043
- Marion 41047
- Multnomah 41051
- Polk 41053
- Tillamook 41057
- Umatilla 41059
- Union 41061
- Wallowa 41063
- Wasco 41065
- Washington 41067
- Yamhill 41071
South Dakota view state ↗ 1 N ▾
Washington view state ↗ 28 N ▾
- Chelan 53007
- Clallam 53009
- Clark 53011
- Columbia 53013
- Cowlitz 53015
- Grays Harbor 53027
- Island 53029
- Jefferson 53031
- King 53033
- Kitsap 53035
- Kittitas 53037
- Klickitat 53039
- Lewis 53041
- Mason 53045
- Okanogan 53047
- Pacific 53049
- Pend Oreille 53051
- Pierce 53053
- San Juan 53055
- Skagit 53057
- Skamania 53059
- Snohomish 53061
- Spokane 53063
- Thurston 53067
- Wahkiakum 53069
- Walla Walla 53071
- Whatcom 53073
- Whitman 53075
§5Sources & provenance
USDA PLANTS
Symbol, taxonomy, distribution, cultivation specs, native status. Public domain.
plants.usda.gov/POMU ↗GBIF Backbone
Canonical taxonomic identity, synonym resolution, cross-refs. CC0.
gbif.org/species/2651122 ↗Record version
Cached and built locally. Source version on this record:
usda-plants-mt-2026-05-26
fetched 2026-05-26T20:46:58Z