Notable Records of Homalosorus pycnocarpos and Dryopteris expansa for the Eastern Upper Peninsula of Michigan

Significance of the Report.The second known record for the eastern Upper Peninsula of Michigan and the third Upper Peninsula record overall; the first since 1965, though there is some ambiguity regarding the location of the 1965 record.Previous Knowledge.In Michigan, Homalosorus pycnocarpos is found in rich, moist deciduous woods, particularly near seeps and small streams and at the base of slopes (MICHIGAN FLORA ONLINE 2011;Palmer 2018).It has a coefficient of conservatism of 10 (Reznicek et al. 2014), indicating a high fidelity to habitat remnants that have remained relatively free of human disturbance since European settlement (Swink and Wilhelm 1994).This species is known from most states and provinces of eastern North America (NatureServe 2022).According to MICHIGAN FLORA ONLINE (2011), it is known in Michigan from most of the counties in the southern Lower Peninsula, a scattering of counties in the northern Lower Peninsula, and one county in the Upper Peninsula.The Michigan Flora online database contains 69 records of the species.Though not State Threatened, State Endangered, or of Special Concern, this suggests it is relatively uncommon.For comparison, the familiar lady fern (Athyrium filix-femina) and spinulose woodfern (Dryopteris carthusiana) are represented in the database by 307 and 294 records, respectively.Several of the known localities of Homalosorus pycnocarpos are among those most cherished by southern Michigan botanists-Russ Forest, Warren Woods, Sharon