Abstract: Focusing on hybridization within the genus Dryopteris (wood fern), we used records from pteridologists Wagner (1963, 1966) and Werth (UVA Herbarium 1998) to find two sites where two different parental species pairs and their hybrids were known to coexist. In these sites we used precise morphometrics to study the patterns of variation across a spatial gradient and distribution of traits within individuals. At the Lake site, Dryopteris campyloptera and D. intermedia were the focus of our study. Using 10 measured traits, Principal Components Analysis was able to discriminate between species but there were still individuals that could not be classified distinctly. These were labeled potential hybrids. To look at variation of character traits within individuals, we classified traits as being D. campyloptera -like or D. intermedia -like, intermediate between the two ranges, or not able to be distinguished. When we applied this trait classification scheme over the spatial gradient of the site, a species gradient emerged. There was a 15 meter region where individuals of the two species were intermixed. The well-discriminated plants that were present in this region were not any more variable than plants at the periphery. The potential hybrid candidates were clustered within this area of species mixing. These hybrid candidates also displayed much more even mixing of traits. This combination of spatial clustering and trait variation is indicative of a late generation hybrid zone. For the Swamp Site and its two species D. carthusiana and D. cristata , PCA was able to tightly discriminate between species groups with very few outliers. Plotting the trait classifications across the site showed similar spatial patterns to the Lake , but density and frequency of D. carthusiana was so low that we did not pursue analysis farther.