''Phlebodium areolatum'', the Virginia blue fern, is a species of

epiphytic An epiphyte is an organism that grows on the surface of a plant and derives its moisture and nutrients from the air, rain, water (in marine environments) or from debris accumulating around it. The plants on which epiphytes grow are called phoroph ...

fern A fern (Polypodiopsida or Polypodiophyta ) is a member of a group of vascular plants (plants with xylem and phloem) that reproduce via spores and have neither seeds nor flowers. The polypodiophytes include all living pteridophytes except ...

in the family

Polypodiaceae Polypodiaceae is a family of ferns. In the Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group classification of 2016 (PPG I), the family includes around 65 genera and an estimated 1,650 species and is placed in the order Polypodiales, suborder Polypodiineae. A broade ...

. It is native to the New World Tropics and Subtropics; Mexico, Florida, some of the Caribbean islands, Central America, and South America to Argentina, and has been introduced to India. As its synonym ''Phlebodium pseudoaureum'' it has gained the

Royal Horticultural Society The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity. The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr (No ...

Award of Garden Merit The Award of Garden Merit (AGM) is a long-established annual award for plants by the British Royal Horticultural Society (RHS). It is based on assessment of the plants' performance under UK growing conditions. History The Award of Garden Merit ...

References

Polypodiaceae Ferns of the Americas Flora of Florida Flora of Mexico Flora of Central America Flora of the Dominican Republic Flora of Haiti Flora of Jamaica Flora of the Leeward Islands Flora of Puerto Rico Flora of Trinidad and Tobago Flora of northern South America Flora of western South America Flora of Brazil Flora of Paraguay Flora of Northeast Argentina Flora of Northwest Argentina Plants described in 1841 Flora without expected TNC conservation status {{Polypodiaceae-stub