Appalachian Lady Fern, *Athyrium appalachensis*
Athyrium appalachensis , Appalachian Lady Fern
LEAVES: clustered at the end of subterranean stem; erect; yellowish-green to green; 8-12 inches wide, 16-28 inches long; wide-based triangle in outline; thrice divided ; sub-leaflets (pinnules) shallowly lobed, lobes bluntly pointed; interior sub-leaflets (pinnules) of basal leaflets (pinnae) remain constant in size, are not reduced ; each leaflet (pinnule) has its corresponding upper (acroscopic) and lower (basioscopic) sub-leaflets (pinnules) of similar length. PETIOLES: yellowish-green to green; grooved on the upper surface. SORI: curved. HABITAT: known so far only from Macon County, North Carolina at elevations above 4,500 feet - except where associated with a waterfall; mesic conditions, along a mountain spring in a mature woodland; a woodland edge near a bald; a grassy verge to a bald; beside a waterfall.
1st record: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/90300543
2nd record: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/90888195
3rd record: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/97995288
4th record: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/127890150
