Hottentot Fern
Thelypteris interrupta
Hottentot Fern has light green leaves that grow to four feet, yet are usually under three feet tall. It must grow in moist to wet soil and can be found naturally from Miami to Brevard County. It is not salt or drought tolerant.
The roots are pencil thin and branch out to form nice tight colonies. I have seen it along the Loxahatchee River and as shown in this picture, the southern edge of a cypress dome. It likes full sun to part shade.
This is a beautiful fern to mix with Marsh, Swamp, Maiden, Giant Leather and Goldenfoot Fern. When planted under a grove of wetland trees like Florida Elm, Dahoon Holly, Pond Cypress, Red Maple, Swamp Redbay and Buttonbush, this makes a wonderful ground cover with the feel of a secret spot in the woods.
You almost expect a deer to jump out of the planting. Or maybe an angry bear that you just woke from its nap. A landscape should have a bit of emotional content, even if it isn’t always pleasant.
I created a planting like this along the eastern side of a friends’ home and with a narrow path running through it, you can almost get lost.
Notice how it even holds its own with Wedelia which has the yellow flowers in this picture and is a bad weed that normally covers everything around it.