Polystichum acrostichoides (Michx.) Schott. CHRISTMAS
FERN. (As Aspidium achrostichoides) "Goat Island. Near
DeVeaux woods," Day (1888). Ontario: Niagara Falls, Wm. Scott, July 5, 1898,
T(24.632); Whirlpool, Wm. Scott, June 26, 1898 (TRT 24.623); Niagara Falls, W.
J. Potter, (TRT 24633), Heimburger (1955). (As Aspidium acrostichoides
and var. incisum), Ontario, Niagara Parks System, Cameron (1895). (As A.
achrostichoides) "area of the Falls," Day (1901).
Ontario: Whirlpool
Ravine woods in the gorge of the Niagara River: moist woods of Acer
saccharum, Liriodendron tulipifera, Adiantum pedatum. P. M. Eckel 8604089
June 10, 1986 (BUF).
[Polystichum braunii (Spenner)
Fee. BRAUN'S HOLLY FERN. Presumably this is the species indicated by Cameron's
(1895) reference to Aspidium aculeatum for the Niagara Park System,
Ontario. One of the old names is A. aculeatum var. braunii,
seen in Gray's Manual, 6th edition, 1889, the only variety noted for the
northeast. This fern is not known for the Niagara Frontier Region (Zander &
Pierce, 1979), and in New York, only from uplands associated with the Catskill
and Adirondack Mountains. It is well distributed in eastern Canada (Fernald,
1950).
Polystichum lonchitis (L.) Roth HOLLY FERN. (As Aspidium
lonchitis), "sparingly at Foster's Flat, Ontario (Burgess),"
Day (1888). (As Aspidium lonchitis) "area of the
Falls," Day (1901). "Found sparingly at Foster's Flats (Niagara
Glen), below the Whirlpool, Niagara Falls, Ontario," Macoun, Cat. of Can.
Pl. This seems to be both the southernmost and easternmost station ever to have
been recorded for this northern species. Not observed by recent collectors but
still to be looked for among the limestone rocks of the locality
mentioned," Zenkert (1934). Ontario: Niagara Gorge, damp rocky soil,
Miller (544), August 20, 1948, Heimburger (1955).
Ontario: Niagara Glen, Savage, Aug. 23, 1950
(NFO).
Range: Aka-YT, BC-Alta, Ont,
PQ-Nfld, local. Status: Extremely rare in western New York, Argus & White
(1977). Note that a specimen was cultivated at the Niagara Parks School of
Horticulture in an area called The Cascade: Essery, July 1960 (NFO). This
species is on the Rare Plant Status List of the New York Natural Heritage
Program (Young, 1992) and only known from Cattaraugus County in the west of the
State, with no extant populations.