Northern Adder's-tongue (Ophioglossum pusillum)

	Connecticut Botanical Society

	Connecticut Ferns
Photos & Information • Wildflowers >Ferns • Rare Plants • Gardening with Native Plants • Plant ID Guides • Links The Society • Home • Field Trips • Meetings • Newsletter • Membership • Get Involved • Contact Us • About this Web Site	Northern Adder's-tongue Ophioglossum pusillum (Ophioglossum vulgatum var. pseudopodum) Northern adder's-tongue doesn't look much like a fern, as it has a single, oval sterile frond, and a single fertile frond that looks like a double row of beads on a stalk. In Connecticut, it is a threatened plant, though it is more common in northern New England. The plant shown was photographed in Maine. • Family: Ophioglossaceae • Habitat: fields, ditches, and woods in soil that is acidic and seasonally wet • Height: 5-12 inches • Location of spores: on a separate fertile frond at the apex of the main frond • Stipe (leaf stalk): green, smooth and fragile • Growth pattern: single leaf • Persistence: deciduous	next fern next rare plant
	This is the fertile part of northern adder's-tongue. The spores are released through the horizontal slits.