Spinulose Wood Fern, Dryopteris carthusiana
A large, lacy denizen of the woods that requires close looks for a positive identification, this "Toothed Wood Fern" has the classic fern shape that everyone recognizes. It can be distinguished from its cousin the Evergreen Wood Fern (Dryopteris intermedia) by the fact that the lowermost pinnule on the bottom pinna is longer than the second lowermost pinnule. In D. intermedia it is the second pinnule that is longer.
At Fresh Pond there are a few Spinulose Wood Ferns growing on the steep flanks of Huron Avenue Hillside. Getting close to them is a challenge made more difficult by the fact that they are usually found among Poison Ivy.