Sceptridium biternatum

Sceptridium biternatum, the southern grapefern or sparse-lobe grape fern , is a perennial fern in the family Ophioglossaceae, occurring in eastern North America. It occurs in "low woods, in hardwood and pine forests, in fields, and on roadsides."^[2] Like other grape ferns, it depends on a mycorrhizal association in the soil to survive.

Sceptridium biternatum
Conservation status
Secure  (NatureServe)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Division:	Polypodiophyta
Class:	Polypodiopsida
Order:	Ophioglossales
Family:	Ophioglossaceae
Genus:	Sceptridium
Species:	S. biternatum
Binomial name
Sceptridium biternatum (Sav.) Underwood
Synonyms
Botrychium biternatum

In the fall its leaves and stem turn a reddish-brown / bronze color; a local name for it is “red fern”.^[3]