In-Depth Description
Sweet Fern grows in full sun to light shade and does best in sandy soils, from well-drained dry sites to the edges of marshes. Sweet Fern creates colonies by spreading stolons and will hold its ground in the sandiest, most infertile soils. Its fern-like leaves have a sweet-smelling fragrance when crushed. Sweet Fern is an important larval host plant for a wide variety of moths including the Io moth, and several sphinx moth species. It is also a caterpillar host plant for the Anise Swallowtail butterfly.
