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
· 3 counties across 2 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 3 counties across 2 states/territories.
Alaska view state ↗ 2 N ▾
South Dakota view state ↗ 1 N ▾
§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 2026-05-26T09:28:40Z