I have occasionally come across this species in the wilds of southeast Pennsylvania on various upland sites, especially around boulders on cliffs and ledges with trees around for some shade. Its native range in North America is from Newfoundland to southern Saskatchewan and from New England to northern Alabama & Georgia to Arkansas up to South Dakota to Minnesota. This is a small fern species with evergreen, dark, leathery deeply pinnately lobed fronds. Its fertile fronds are the same size as infertile fronds and bear circular or kidney-shaped sori (spore producing dots) under the leaves. The leaf stalks have scales and are hairless. I have never seen this fern sold by any nursery. There are some specialty and native plant mail order nurseries that sell some as: Izel Nursery in Washington, D.C. and Fernwood Nursery in Nova Scotia near Halifax. In a garden or landscape situation it likes average or moist soil in part or full shade, out of strong winds. It slowly spreads some by its rhizomes (underground stems).

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