River Fern

Thelypteris kunthii

Hills guide picknative · Central Texas

River Fern is a perennial native to Central Texas that grows 2–3 ft tall and 3 ft wide. It wants shade and medium to high water, and handles caliche and clay soil. Blooms not applicable in no bloom. Deer rarely browse it.

Wet ground only. Usually found in wetlands and creek bottoms. It wants reliably moist ground and struggles in a dry upland bed.

Will it grow in your yard?

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From our guide

Village of the Hills

Soft-textured deciduous fern forming spreading colonies of arching fronds.

Why it works here

The toughest fern for Central Texas shade — it takes real dry spells and comes back.

Watch out

Spreads by rhizome and will colonize a bed. Goes fully dormant in winter; the bed looks bare.

The facts

6 sources

Type: Perennial
Sun: Shade (under 3 hrs)
Water: Medium to high
Height: 2–3 ft
Spread: 3 ft
Bloom: No Bloom · not applicable
Foliage: Deciduous
Soil: Takes caliche and clay · recorded on clay, limestone, loam, moist, poor drainage, sand, wet
Deer: High — deer rarely browse it. Ferns are rarely browsed here.

Size, sun, water and foliage from the Village of the Hills guide; the rest resolved across sources.

Where it grows

Recorded in these EPA Level IV ecoregions in the Austin and Hill Country launch area:

Northern Blackland PrairieSouthern Post Oak SavannaSan Antonio Prairie

Can you buy it?

In the Village of the Hills guide, but not on the grower stock lists we read yet. Ask a native-plant nursery.