Woodsia ilvensis(L.) R.Br.

rusty woodsia

WFO wfo-0001109460 Accepted WFO 2026-06 8 photographs CC0 / CC BY / CC BY-SA

Plate 1 figs. a–h · 8 separate observations

Woodsia ilvensis, photographed by Quinten Wiegersma
fig. a Quinten Wiegersma, CC BY 4.0 / 2022-06-08 / obs. 205336005
Woodsia ilvensis, photographed by Ilkka Kaita-aho
fig. b Ilkka Kaita-aho, CC0 1.0 / obs. 203469387
Woodsia ilvensis, photographed by Pierre Cartier
fig. c Pierre Cartier, CC0 1.0 / obs. 202059721
Woodsia ilvensis, photographed by Nina Filippova
fig. d Nina Filippova, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 197047656
Woodsia ilvensis, photographed by Oleg Kosterin
fig. e Oleg Kosterin, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 197988768
Woodsia ilvensis, photographed by Nina Filippova
fig. f Nina Filippova, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 194763678
Woodsia ilvensis, photographed by Henry "Nick" Robertson
fig. g Henry "Nick" Robertson, CC BY-SA 4.0 / obs. 193376966
Woodsia ilvensis, photographed by Pierre Cartier
fig. h Pierre Cartier, CC0 1.0 / obs. 161245988

Every figure is a research-grade observation under CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA, rehosted with the photographer’s name, the licence and the observation it came from. Photographs under a NonCommercial licence are excluded from this site and are never stored, which costs us a great many pictures and is not negotiable.

Native range 79 botanical countries

Regions where Woodsia ilvensis is native: Altay, Amur, Buryatiya, China North-Central, Chita, Inner Mongolia, Irkutsk, Japan, Kamchatka, Kazakhstan, Khabarovsk, Krasnoyarsk, Magadan, Manchuria, Mongolia, North Caucasus, Primorye, Sakhalin, Transcaucasus, Tuva, West Siberia, Xinjiang, Yakutiya, Austria, Belarus, Central European Russia, Czechia-Slovakia, East European Russia, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Krym, North European Russia, Northwest European Russia, Norway, NW. Balkan Pen., Poland, Romania, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine, Alaska, Alberta, British Columbia, Connecticut, Greenland, Illinois, Iowa, Labrador, Maine, Manitoba, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Brunswick, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Newfoundland, North Carolina, Northwest Territories, Nova Scotia, Nunavut, Ohio, Ontario, Pennsylvania, Québec, Rhode I., Saskatchewan, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Yukon AltayAmurBuryatiyaChina North-CentralChitaInner MongoliaIrkutskJapanKamchatkaKazakhstanKhabarovskKrasnoyarskMagadanManchuriaMongoliaNorth CaucasusPrimoryeSakhalinTranscaucasusTuvaWest SiberiaXinjiangYakutiyaAustriaBelarusCentral European RussiaCzechia-SlovakiaEast European RussiaFinlandFranceGermanyHungaryIcelandItalyKrymNorth European RussiaNorthwest European RussiaNorwayNW. Balkan Pen.PolandRomaniaSwedenSwitzerlandUkraineAlaskaAlbertaBritish ColumbiaConnecticutGreenlandIllinoisIowaLabradorMaineManitobaMarylandMassachusettsMichiganMinnesotaNew BrunswickNew HampshireNew JerseyNew YorkNewfoundlandNorth CarolinaNorthwest TerritoriesNova ScotiaNunavutOhioOntarioPennsylvaniaQuébecSaskatchewanVermontVirginiaWest VirginiaWisconsinYukon Rhode I.
Native distribution of Woodsia ilvensis, after Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants. Introduced, extinct and doubtful records are excluded, so this is where the plant is from, not everywhere it now grows. Regions too small to draw at this scale are marked with a dot.
RegionTDWG codeContinent
Alaska ASK NORTHERN AMERICA
Alberta ABT
British Columbia BRC
Connecticut CNT
Greenland GNL
Illinois ILL
Iowa IOW
Labrador LAB
Maine MAI
Manitoba MAN
Maryland MRY
Massachusetts MAS
Michigan MIC
Minnesota MIN
New Brunswick NBR
New Hampshire NWH
New Jersey NWJ
New York NWY
Newfoundland NFL
North Carolina NCA
Northwest Territories NWT
Nova Scotia NSC
Nunavut NUN
Ohio OHI
Ontario ONT
Pennsylvania PEN
Québec QUE
Rhode I. RHO
Saskatchewan SAS
Vermont VER
Virginia VRG
West Virginia WVA
Wisconsin WIS
Yukon YUK
Altay ALT ASIA-TEMPERATE
Amur AMU
Buryatiya BRY
China North-Central CHN
Chita CTA
Inner Mongolia CHI
Irkutsk IRK
Japan JAP
Kamchatka KAM
Kazakhstan KAZ
Khabarovsk KHA
Krasnoyarsk KRA
Magadan MAG
Manchuria CHM
Mongolia MON
North Caucasus NCS
Primorye PRM
Sakhalin SAK
Transcaucasus TCS
Tuva TVA
West Siberia WSB
Xinjiang CHX
Yakutiya YAK
Austria AUT EUROPE
Belarus BLR
Central European Russia RUC
Czechia-Slovakia CZE
East European Russia RUE
Finland FIN
France FRA
Germany GER
Great Britain GRB
Hungary HUN
Iceland ICE
Italy ITA
Krym KRY
North European Russia RUN
Northwest European Russia RUW
Norway NOR
NW. Balkan Pen. YUG
Poland POL
Romania ROM
Sweden SWE
Switzerland SWI
Ukraine UKR

Not drawn on the map: Great Britain. We hold no public-domain boundary for this region, so it is listed rather than guessed at.

Region boundaries approximated from Natural Earth (public domain) and mapped to TDWG World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions (WGSRPD) level-3 botanical countries (Brummitt 2001). Indicative, not the official WGSRPD geometry.

Also published as 33 synonyms

A synonym is not an error. It is a record of botanists disagreeing, in print, about where this plant belongs. Each of these was somebody’s considered answer.

  • Acrostichum ilvense L.
  • Acrostichum marantae Pall.
  • Aspidium rufidulum Sw.
  • Athyrium rufidulum (Michx.) A.A.Eaton
  • Cincinalis setigera Desv.
  • Lastrea rufidula C.Presl
  • Nephrodium rufidulum Michx.
  • Notholaena rufidula (Michx.) Desv.
  • Notholaena setigera Desv.
  • Polypodium ilvense Vill.
  • Polypodium ilvense (L.) Vill.
  • Polypodium ilvense (L.) Sw.
  • Polypodium marantae Hoffm.
  • Preslia paleacea Opiz
  • Woodsia acuminata (Fomin) Sipliv.
  • Woodsia frigida Gand.
  • Woodsia hyperborea prol. rufidula (Michx.) Rouy
  • Woodsia hyperborea subsp. ilvensis (L.) Bonnier & Layens
  • Woodsia hyperborea subsp. ilvensis (L.) Hook.f.
  • Woodsia hyperborea var. ilvensis (L.) Jess.
  • Woodsia hyperborea var. rufidula (Michx.) W.D.J.Koch
  • Woodsia ilvensis subsp. rufidula (Michx.) Asch.
  • Woodsia ilvensis var. acuminata Fomin
  • Woodsia ilvensis var. ilvensis

and 9 more.

Sourcesevery claim on this page

  1. World Flora Online Plant List. accepted name, authority, classification. CC0. Retrieved 2026-07-12.
  2. iNaturalist. photographs and flowering annotations, CC0 / CC BY / CC BY-SA only. per photograph. Retrieved 2026-06-27.
  3. Wikidata. common name (P1843), joined on the World Flora Online identifier (P7715). CC0. Retrieved 2026-07-13.
  4. Kew, World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP v16). native distribution by TDWG level-3 botanical country, and life form. CC BY 3.0. Retrieved 2026-06-04.

We publish what we can source and we say so when we cannot. This page has no care advice and no toxicity claim, because we do not yet have those from a source we can cite.