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Vittaria lineata (L.) Sm.
Shoestring fern

Vittaria lineata
Copyright by: George D. Gann, 2012
In habitat, Palm Beach County, Florida

Family: Pteridaceae

Group: Pteridophyte

Substrate: Epiphyte

Habit: Herb

Perennation: Perennial

Native Range: Southeastern United States (Florida, Georgia), the West Indies, Mexico, Central America and South America.

Map of select IRC data for peninsular Florida

IRC SOUTH FLORIDA Status: Secure

SOUTH FLORIDA Occurrence: Present

SOUTH FLORIDA Native Status: Native

SOUTH FLORIDA Cultivated Status: Cultivated

Comments: Visit our Natives For Your Neighborhood website for more information and images. Reported by John Kunkel Small in 1918 for Royal Palm Hammock. See a 2018 post on the Treasure Coast Natives blog on Shoestring fern's relationship with the moss Octoblepharum albidum.

Other data on Vittaria lineata available from :

Vittaria lineata has been found in the following 106 conservation areas :
Occurrence Native Status
A.D. Doug Barnes Park Present Native
Alice C. Wainwright Park Possibly Extirpated Possibly Extirpated
Arch Creek Park Present Native
Babcock Ranch Preserve Present Native
Barefoot Beach Preserve Present Native
Big Cypress National Preserve Present Native
Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park Presumed Extirpated Native, Cultivated Only
Bill Sadowski Park Present Native
Black Creek Forest Present Native
Blowing Rocks Preserve Present Native
Bocilla Preserve Present Native
Bonair Beach Parcel, Martin County Present Native
Boystown Pineland Present Native
Caloosahatchee Creeks Preserve Present Native
Caloosahatchee Regional Park Present Native
Camp Owaissa Bauer Present Native
Castellow Hammock parcel 28 Present Native
Castellow Hammock parcel 33 Present Native
Castellow Hammock Park Present Native
Cayo Costa State Park Present Native
Cedar Point Environmental Park Present Native
Collier-Seminole State Park Present Native
Coral Reef Park Present Native
Corkscrew Regional Ecosystem Watershed (CREW) Present Native
Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary Present Native
Dagny Johnson Key Largo Hammocks Botanical State Park Present Native
Danforth Park Recorded as Present in Error
Deering Estate at Cutler Present Native
Delray Oaks Natural Area Present Native
Doris Davis Forman Wilderness Preserve Natural Area Present Native
Dupuis Reserve Present Native
Estero Bay Preserve State Park Present Native
Everglades National Park Present Native
Fakahatchee Strand Preserve State Park Present Native
Fern Forest Nature Center Present Native
Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge Present Native
Fred C. Babcock-Cecil M. Webb Wildlife Management Area Present Native
Frenchman's Forest Natural Area Present Native
Fuchs Hammock Preserve Present Native
Girl Scouts South Miami Little House Present Native
Gomez Present Native
Grassy Waters Preserve Present Native
Halpatiokee Regional Park Present Native
Harden Hammock Present Native
Hattie Bauer Hammock Present Native
Hawk's Hammock Park Present Native
Hickey Creek Mitigation Park Wildlife and Environmental Area Present Native
Hillsboro Pineland Natural Area Present Native
Hobe Sound National Wildlife Refuge Present Native
Hugh Taylor Birch State Park Present Native
J.N. Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge Present Native
J.W. Corbett Wildlife Management Area Present Native
John D. MacArthur Beach State Park Present Native
Jonathan Dickinson State Park Present Native
Juno Dunes Natural Area Present Native
Kendall Indian Hammocks Park Present Native
Kiplinger Present Native
Koreshan State Historic Site Present Native
LaBelle Nature Park Present Native
Larry and Penny Thompson Park Present Native
Loxahatchee River Natural Area Present Native
Loxahatchee River-Lake Worth Creek Aquatic Preserve Present Native
Loxahatchee Slough Natural Area Present Native
Luis Martinez United States Army Reserve Station, Richmond Pine Rocklands Present Native
Matanzas Pass Preserve Present Native
Matheson Hammock Park Present Native
Medlock Pineland Present Native
Muscara Present Native
National Key Deer Refuge Possibly Extirpated Possibly Extirpated
Navy Wells Pineland 23 Present Native
Navy Wells Pineland Preserve Present Native
Ned Glenn Nature Preserve Present Native
Nicodemus Slough Present Native
Nixon Smiley Pineland Addition Present Native
Nixon Smiley Pineland Preserve Present Native
Okaloacoochee Slough State Forest, Okaloacoochee Slough Wildlife Management Area Present Native
Okaloacoochee Slough Wildlife Management Area - FWC, Okaloacoochee Slough Wildlife Management Area Present Native
Pal-Mar Present Native
Pal-Mar Natural Area Present Native
Peck Lake Park Present Native
Picayune Strand State Forest Present Native
Pine Jog Environmental Sciences Center Present Native
Pond Apple Slough Natural Area Present Native
Prairie Pines Preserve Present Native
Quail Roost Pineland Present Native
R. Hardy Matheson Preserve Present Native
Riverbend Park Present Native
Rockdale Pineland Present Native
Rocky Point Hammock Present Native
Rookery Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve Present Native
Royal Palm Beach Pines Natural Area Present Native
Savannas Preserve State Park Present Native
Seabranch Preserve State Park Present Native
Silver Palm Groves Present Native
Six Mile Cypress Slough Preserve Present Native
South Dade Wetlands Present Native
St. Lucie Inlet Preserve State Park Present Native
Stuart Beach Park Present Native
Stump Pass Beach State Park Present Native
Tall Cypress Natural Area Present Native
Tradewinds Park & Stables Present Native
Twin Rivers Present Native
Wild Turkey Strand Preserve Present Native
Woodmont Natural Area Present Native
Yamato Scrub Natural Area Present Native
Yellow Fever Creek Preserve Present Native

Vittaria lineata has been found in the following 10 counties :
Occurrence Native Status
Broward County Native
Charlotte County Native
Collier County Native
Hendry County
Lee County Native
Martin County Native
Miami-Dade County Native
Monroe County (Keys) Native
Monroe County (Mainland) Native
Palm Beach County Native

Vittaria lineata has been found in the following 14 habitats :
Alluvial Forest
Baygall
Dome Swamp
Floodplain Swamp
Freshwater Tidal Swamp
Hydric Hammock
Maritime Hammock
Mesic Flatwoods
Mesic Hammock
Pine Rockland
Prairie Hammock
Rockland Hammock
Shell Mound
Strand Swamp

All Images:

Vittaria lineata
Copyright by: George D. Gann, 2012
In habitat, Palm Beach County, Florida
Vittaria lineata
Copyright by: George D. Gann, 2018
In habitat, Ned Glenn Nature Preserve, Florida
Vittaria lineata
Copyright by: Shirley Denton
Vittaria lineata
Copyright by: Shirley Denton
Vittaria lineata
Copyright by: Shirley Denton
Vittaria lineata
Copyright by: Jay Horn via iNaturalist.