Licorice Fern is an epiphytic fern of the Pacific Northwest that grows on the mossy branches and trunks of big-leaf maples, bigleaf alders, and rocky cliffs. Its rhizomes taste of licorice and were chewed medicinally by Pacific Coast indigenous peoples. It is deciduous in summer drought but greens up dramatically with fall rains.
Habitat
Mossy tree trunks, rocky outcrops, and cliffs of Pacific Northwest forests
Diet
Provides structural habitat; spores dispersed by wind
How common
Common
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