| Author | (Gaudichaud-Beaupre) Ching | |
| Distribution | Only four specimens at SERNEC are of adventive or established plants; all others are cultivated (Chatham, Mecklenburg counties) or mis-annotated (Avery County). Polk County: edge of woods along county road 1151, C. Horn in 2015 (specimen at herbarium NBYC); Anson County: B. Dill in 2022 (at NCU); Wilson County: pine forest behind a home (NCU), M. Basinger in 2020; and Randolph County, McCormick and Peifer in 2024.
Native to tropical Africa and Asia; in N.A. mostly Gulf Coastal Plain, north to NC and AR. Weakley also maps waifs in VA, KY, and IL. | |
| Abundance | Very rare. | |
| Habitat | Roadside edge of woods, and other disturbed ground. | |
| Phenology | | |
| Identification | False Maiden-fern fronds are 2-4 feet long, broadest towards the base. Blades are 2-pinnate and taper-tipped. Sori are brown, round, and medial. The 2-pinnate blades separate it from the genus Thelypteris. | |
| Taxonomic Comments | | |
| Other Common Name(s) | | |
| State Rank | SE | |
| Global Rank | G5 | |
| State Status | | |
| US Status | | |
| USACE-agcp | | |
| USACE-emp | | |
