sword fern, Nephrolepis exaltata

Here's a big patch of exultant swords? What did they conquer? Pretty much everything around them that didn't have tough woody stems. Then that took on humans, and won our fern loving hearts. You might have some hanging in your window. This is the ancestor of Boston fern, a natural variety with less rigid fronds. It's not clear how Boston got its name, but it seems to have had something to do with its arrival in Boston, and sebsequent horticultural marketing. Sword fern grows in AZ, FL, HI, LA, and TX. Flagler Co FL, 1/28/13. Sword fern family, Nephrolepidaceae.