Adder's Tongue Fern, Southern (Ophioglossum pycnostichum) - Usually in floodplains along streams and in swamps.

Bracken Fern (Pteridium aquilinum) - Deciduous, rapidly spreading. Rather dry situations. Open roadsides and thinly wooded flats.

Broad Beech Fern (Thelypteris hexagonoptera) - Deciduous. Humus-rich, well-drained woodlands and cool, shaded slopes of ravines and rocky gorges.

Christmas Fern (Polystichum acrostichoides) - Evergreen. One of the most drought tolerant of Georgia ferns (once established). Moist woods, shaded slopes and ravines. Usually in partial shade, but in all sorts of soils.

Cinnamon Fern (Osmunda cinnamomea) - Deciduous. In wet, somewhat acidic soil, in swamps, sphagnum bogs, wet woods, and along stream banks.

Ebony Spleenwort (Asplenium platyneuron) - Evergreen. Extremely common throughout Georgia. Wooded slopes, open woods, rocky places. Invades masonry. Best in well-drained, subacidic soil.

Grapefern, Southern (Botrychium biternatum) - Evergreen. Appears in the summer. Mostly in moist woodlands, thickets, and stream banks, but also in drier woods and fields.

Hay-Scented Fern (Dennstaedtia punctilobula) - Deciduous. Uplands in moderate shade, or moist or dry, wooded hillsides. Along edges of woods and streams and shaded roadside banks.

Lady Fern, Southern (Athyrium filix-femina var. asplenioides) - Deciduous. The only lady fern found in Georgia, where it is one of the most abundant ferns. Swampy woods, moist, wooded hillsides, roadside banks, and along streams.

Netted Chain Fern (Lorinseria areolata) - Deciduous. One of the most common ferns in Georgia. Prominent veins of sterile blade conspicuously netted. Wet, often acidic soil of swampy woods, along streams, in rich woods and swampy depressions. Can be invasive.

New York Fern (Thelypteris noveboracensis) - Deciduous. Widely creeping. Moist or wet thickets or woodlands, banks of streams, and fairly open, swampy places.

Northern Maidenhair Fern (Adiantum pedatum) - Deciduous. Rich, moist, woodland slopes with good drainage, shade, and ample humus. Prefers some lime.

Rattlesnake Fern (Botrychium virginianum) - Deciduous. Appears in early spring and lasts until late fall. Moist deciduous woodlands.

Resurrection Fern (Polypodium polypodioides) - Evergreen. Epiphytic on the trunks and upper branches of oaks and other rough-barked trees. Forms dense mats on rocks, old shingled roofs, and rotten wood.

Royal Fern (Osmunda regalis) - Deciduous. In wet woods, cypress and creek swamps, springy depressions, and along rocky streams.

Sensitive Fern (Onoclea sensibilis) - Deciduous. "Sensitive" only in that the sterile fronds are easily killed by frost. Can be invasive. Swampy woodlands, muddy ditches, wet soil in meadows and river swamps. Thrives in often-flooded situations.

Descriptions from Field Guide to the Ferns and Other Pteriodophytes of Georgia by Lloyd H. Snyder, Jr. and James G. Bruce. The University of Georgia Press, Athens, Georgia 30602, 1986.