Spores are located in rounded sori on the undersides of the fronds, and are released in cool weather and high humidity.

[1] Licorice fern grows single fronds scattered along a thick creeping rhizome; the genus name Polypodium (many-footed) refers to this characteristic.

The species is not closely related to the flowering plant from which the commercial product licorice is derived (Glycyrrhiza glabra).

[2] It occurs primarily in a narrow near-coastal strip in southern Alaska, southwestern Yukon Territory, western British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, and California, with a disjunct population in Idaho.

[6] It takes advantage of the mild, wet winters and the substrate of deciduous trees to photosynthesize and grow during the cold season when most other temperate plants are dormant.

[9][10] Licorice fern is chewed for flavor by numerous indigenous groups, including the Squamish, Shishalh, Comox, Nuxalk, Haida, and Kwakwaka'wakw.