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Family: Ophioglossaceae (Adder's-tongue family)
Mid-Atlantic bloom time: March - July
The fertile blade on Southern Adder's Tongue is widest at the base where it meets the stem. This is the best way to distinguish it from Northern Adder's Tongue (Ophioglossum pusillum), which is widest at the midpoint of the blade.
Southern Adder's Tongue used be considered to be the same species as its European counterpart O. vulgatum. However, research into the genus Ophioglossum showed that it is actually composed of multiple species. The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection published a description of Southern Adder's Tongue 1 that notes the following:
According to Weakley et al. (2024) 2 O. vulgatum is restricted to Eurasia, while the North American O. pycnostichum may actually encompass more than one species. Furthermore, the results of a global analysis of Ophioglossum by Zhang and Zhang (2022) indicate that (even with the exclusion of O. pycnostichum) O. vulgatum might not be monophyletic.
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17 April 2023
Manassas National Battlefield Park, Manassas, VA 
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20 April 2024
Bull Run Mountains Natural Area Preserve, Haymarket, VA 
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12 May 2023
Bull Run Mountains Natural Area Preserve, Haymarket, VA 
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12 May 2023
Bull Run Mountains Natural Area Preserve, Haymarket, VA 
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17 April 2023
Manassas National Battlefield Park, Manassas, VA 
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References
1: New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, Ophioglossum pycnostichum: Southern Adder's-tongue. June 2025 (PDF file)
2: This has been updated in 2025 to Flora of the Southeastern United States, 2025 edition, by Alan S. Weakley and the Southeastern Flora Team
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