Myricaceae
Sweetfern
Comptonia peregrina
- Family
- Myricaceae
- Genus
- Comptonia
Pet and kid safety: not checked yet. Check pet-safe plants
Is yours looking unwell? Scan your plant — free
Common names
By language (12)
- Chinese
- 香蕨
- Croatian
- Komptonija
- Czech
- Postopčák cizí
- Danish
- Almindelig Bregnepors
- English
- Sweetfern, Sweet fern
- Finnish
- Tuoksumyrtti
- French
- Comptonie voyageuse
- German
- Farnmyrte
- Polish
- Komptonia amerykańska
- Portuguese
- Comptonia
- Serbian
- Slatka paprat
- Spanish
- Comptonia
Synonyms
- Comptonia asplenifolia (L.) L'Hér. ex Aiton
- Comptonia aspleniifolia Banks
- Comptonia aspleniifolia (L.) L'Hér.
- Comptonia ceterach Mirb.
- Comptonia peregrina var. aspleniifolia (L.) Fernald
- Comptonia peregrina var. peregrina
- Comptonia peregrina var. tomentosa A.Chev.
- Liquidambar asplenifolia (L.) C.F.Ludw.
- Liquidambar aspleniifolia L.
- Liquidambar peregrina L.
- Myrica aspleniifolia L.
- Myrica aspleniifolia var. tomentosa (A.Chev.) Gleason
- Myrica comptonia C.DC.
- Myrica peregrina (L.) Kuntze
Flowers
- In flower
- April to June (from 251 flowering iNaturalist observations worldwide)
- Flower colour
- white (USDA PLANTS Database)
Characteristics
- Growth habit
- Shrub, Subshrub
- Lifespan
- Perennial
- In the US and Canada
- Canada: native, Lower 48 states: native
Photos
FlowerPhoto: Clay Gibbons, CC BY 4.0, from iNaturalist 
FlowerPhoto: Bryce, CC BY 4.0, from iNaturalist 
FlowerPhoto: Destynnie K. Berard, CC BY 4.0, from iNaturalist 
FlowerPhoto: aberkov, CC BY 4.0, from iNaturalist 
FruitPhoto: Douglas Goldman, CC BY-SA 4.0, from iNaturalist 
Photo: Jomegat, CC BY-SA 3.0, from Wikimedia Commons 
Photo: Evan M. Raskin, CC BY 4.0, from iNaturalist 
Photo: Patrick Jackson, CC BY 4.0, from iNaturalist 
Photo: homeredwardprice on Flickr, CC BY 2.0, from Wikimedia Commons 
Photo: Jomegat, CC BY-SA 3.0, from Wikimedia Commons 
Photo: Quentin Groom, CC0, from iNaturalist 
Photo: Rob Routledge , Sault College, Bugwood.org, CC BY 3.0, from Wikimedia Commons
Sources: classification, synonyms from World Flora Online Plant List (2026-06, CC0 1.0); common names, popularity from Wikidata (2026-10-26, CC0 1.0); common names, US characteristics from USDA PLANTS Database (2025-05-29, CC0 1.0). About our plant data.