Northern Lady Fern is often described as the most common fern in the northeastern forests of North America. It grows in Greenland and, in Canada, as far west as Saskatchewan. In America it grows as far west as South Dakota and Missouri... and as far south as North Carolina. It favors moist, rich forests. It also grows in Europe and portions of Asia.
Having said that, I can attest to the fact that it grows very successfully on the southern Great Plains in central Oklahoma. I was given a clump about the size of a 6 inch pot and grew it in a large, double-walled pot on a covered but open south-facing patio. Because it is hardy to zone 2, and because I water carefully in the winter, it stayed in that large pot for a year... and by the end of that year it had filled the large pot.
This fern has finely cut, ascending, light green fronds that are widest at the middle. The fronds grow in a "dense circular shuttlecock-like clump" and the plant matures at 2-3 feet in spread and height.
It is a deciduous fern... so there is little to see in winter... but it balances that by being a spectacular specimen during the growing season.

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