| Latin name |
Common name |
Height |
Spread |
USDA zone |
Remarks |
| Adiantum
pedatum |
Northern maidenhair fern |
12" |
12" |
3 |
Black stems with delicate foliage resembling
feathers. |
| Asplenium
scolopendrium |
Hart's-tongue fern |
24" |
24" |
5 |
Long wavy pale leaves with rows of brown spore
cases on undersides. Limestone tolerant. |
| A.
trichomanes |
Maidenhair spleenwort |
8" |
12" |
2 |
Attractive pinnate silhouette with dark brown
midrib. |
| Athyrium
filix-femina |
Lady fern |
3' |
3' |
2 |
Deciduous fern with doubly divided fronds.
Prefers acid soil and shade. |
| Blechnum
penna-marina |
|
12" |
18" |
3 |
Creeping rhizomes and glossy evergreen fronds.
Needs acidity. |
| B. spicant |
Hard fern or Deer fern |
30" |
18" |
5 |
Flourishes in fibrous soil with peat or
composted tree bark. |
| Chimonobambusa
marmorea |
Bamboo |
6' |
3' |
6 |
Elegant bamboo for streamsides. Also useful as
hedging or in groups. |
| Eriophorum angustifolium |
Cotton grass |
12-18" |
8" |
4 |
Tufted sedge like perennial. Thrives in acid
soil. |
| Clyceria
maxima var. variegata |
Manna grass |
30"-6 1/2' |
varies |
5 |
Tall grass for marshland or water depth to
12". Creamy yellow stripes pink in spring. |
| Hakonechloa
macra 'Aureola' |
|
14" |
18" |
7 |
Small-growing grass with golden striped leaves. |
| Juncus
effusus |
Soft rush |
12-18" |
18-24" |
4 |
Dark green perennial clumps. Several varieties. |
| J. inflexus |
Hard rush |
12-24" |
18-24" |
4 |
Forms evergreen clumps of slender gray-green
stems. Useful because it retains it's character during winter. |
| Luzula x
borreri 'Botany Bay' |
Wood rush |
8" |
8" |
6 |
Parchment colored when young. May be invasive. |
| L. nivea |
Snow rush |
24" |
18-24" |
6 |
Shining white flowers in summer followed by
reddish-brown seeds. Makes neat clumps. |
| L. sylvatica
'Marginata' |
Great woodrush |
12-18" |
indefinite |
6 |
Leaves narrowly edged with white. Spreads
slowly. |
| Matteuccia
struthiopteris |
Ostrich fern |
3' |
18" |
2 |
Spectacular deciduous fern. Excellent for bog
garden or stream bank. Spreads by underground rhizomes. |
| Miscanthus
sacchariflorus |
Amur silver grass |
10' |
3' |
5 |
Imposing columns of fluttering leaves that turn
bronze in fall. |
| M. sinensis |
|
6 1/2' |
24" |
5 |
Graceful wiry stems. Is not invasive. Several
varieties including 'Zebrinus' with transversal stripes. |
| Onoclea
sensibilis |
Sensitive fern |
18" |
3' |
4 |
Single fronds grow from long spreading
rhizomes. Will form a mat over water. |
| Osmunda
regalis |
Royal fern |
6 1/2' |
3' |
2 |
Majestic deciduous fern. Massive erect rhizomes
unfurl tan-colored crosiers in spring. Needs lots of moisture. |
| Pennisetum
alopecuroides |
Fountain grass |
3' |
18" |
7 |
Several varieties and cultivars. These grasses
make beautiful specimens near ponds and pools. |
| Phalarisarundinacea |
Gardener's garters |
3' |
indefinite |
4 |
Several varieties. May be invasive. Handsome
white striped leaves will grow to water's edge. |
| Phegopteris
connectilis |
Beech fern |
9" |
12" |
5 |
Good
carpeting plant in humus-rich acidic soil. |
| Phragmites
australis |
Norfolk reed |
13' |
indefinite |
6 |
Invasive, plant where it is contained. 'Variegatus'
has yellow striped leaves. |
| Phyllostachys
aurea |
Fishpole bamboo |
20-25' |
indefinite |
6 |
Clump forming evergreen bamboo. Yellowish-green
leaves with upright grooved culms with swollen ridge below each node. |
| P.
aureosulcata |
yellow groove bamboo |
20-25' |
indefinite |
6 |
Forms clumps of evergreen olive-green canes
with yellow grooves. |
| P.
bambusoides |
Giant Timber Bamboo |
20-100' |
indefinite |
7 |
Stout canes with evergreen leaves. |
| P. nigra |
Black bamboo |
20-25' |
indefinite |
7 |
The canes green at first turn black in time.
Some of the varieties are considered the most beautiful of the
bamboos. |
| Pleioblastus
auricoma |
|
3' |
indefinite |
7 |
One of the smaller bamboos with broad yellow
leaves striped with green. |
| P.
variegatus |
Dwarf white striped bamboo |
30" |
24" |
7 |
Dark green leaves striped with creamy-white and
downy purple-lined sheaths. Branches. |
| Polypodium
vulgare |
Common polypody |
12" |
12" |
3 |
Long leathery leaflets arranged alternately up
the stems. Does best in acid conditions and semishade. |
| Polystichum
setiferum |
soft shield fern |
24" |
18" |
4 |
Pale green evergreen fern. Some varieties have
so finely divided leaves they resemble ferns in themselves. Does well in
neutral to alkaline soils. |
| Pseudosasa
japonica |
Arrow bamboo or Metake |
16' |
indefinite |
6 |
Tough thickets of smooth green canes. Capable
of growing in shade and very boggy conditions. Highly wind resistant.
Flowers more frequently than other bamboos. |
| Sasa
veitchii |
|
5' |
indefinite |
7 |
Potentially invasive. Leaf margins becomes
parchment colored in fall and retains color all winter. |
| Scirpus
lacustris |
True bulrush |
5-10' |
indefinite |
4 |
Several varieties. 'Zebrinus' has transversal
white and green stripes. All are very decorative and will grow in shallow
water. |
| Spartina
pectinata |
Cord grass |
6 1/2' |
indefinite |
5 |
Can be invasive. Several varieties. All turn
russet yellow in fall. Valuable for consolidating mud banks. |
| Thelypteris
palustris |
Marsh fern |
30" |
12" |
4 |
Deciduous fern for really wet areas. Inclined
to be invasive but ideal for naturalized settings. |
| Typha
species |
Cattails |
12"-8' |
indefinite |
3 |
All cattails are invasive. |
| Woodsia
alpina |
Northern woodsia |
8" |
8" |
5 |
Good candidate for shady, moist stony situations
where surface moisture drains rapidly. Good near waterfalls. |
| Zizania
aquatica |
Canadian wild rice or Water oats |
10' |
18" |
6 |
Lofty annual grass with terminal flower heads
followed by rice-like seeds. Grow in full sun from seeds in pots of mud. |