''Athyrium filix-femina'', the lady fern or common lady-fern, is a large, feathery species of

fern A fern (Polypodiopsida or Polypodiophyta ) is a member of a group of vascular plants (plants with xylem and phloem) that reproduce via spores and have neither seeds nor flowers. The polypodiophytes include all living pteridophytes except ...

native to

temperate In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (23.5° to 66.5° N/S of Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ranges throughout t ...

Asia, Europe, North Africa, Canada and the USA. It is often abundant (one of the more common ferns) in damp, shady

woodland A woodland () is, in the broad sense, land covered with trees, or in a narrow sense, synonymous with wood (or in the U.S., the '' plurale tantum'' woods), a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade (see ...

environments and is often grown for decoration. Its common names "lady fern" and "female fern" refer to how its reproductive structures ( sori) are concealed in an inconspicuous – deemed "female" – manner on the frond. Alternatively, it is said to be feminine because of its elegant and graceful appearance.

Characteristics

Unidentified fern, Cambridge University Botanic Garden

''Athyrium filix-femina'' is now commonly split into three species, typical ''A. filix-femina'', '' A. angustum'' (narrow lady fern) and '' A. asplenioides'' (southern lady fern). ''Athyrium filix-femina'' is cespitose (the fronds arising from a central point as a clump rather than along a rhizome). The

deciduous In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the term ''deciduous'' () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, a ...

frond A frond is a large, divided leaf. In both common usage and botanical nomenclature, the leaves of ferns are referred to as fronds and some botanists restrict the term to this group. Other botanists allow the term frond to also apply to the lar ...

s are light yellow-green, long and broad. Sori appear as dots on the underside of the frond, 1–6 per

pinnule A leaflet (occasionally called foliole) in botany is a leaf-like part of a compound leaf. Though it resembles an entire leaf, a leaflet is not borne on a main plant stem or branch, as a leaf is, but rather on a petiole or a branch of the leaf. C ...

. They are covered by a prominently whitish to brown reniform (kidney-shaped)

indusium A sorus (pl. sori) is a cluster of sporangia (structures producing and containing spores) in ferns and fungi. A coenosorus (plural coenosori) is a compound sorus composed of multiple, fused sori. Etymology This New Latin word is from Ancient Gr ...

. Fronds are very dissected, being 3-pinnate. The stipe may bear long, pale brown, papery scales at the base. The spores are yellow on ''A. angustum'' and dark brown on ''A. asplenioides''. ''A. filix-femina'' is very hardy, tolerating temperatures as low as throughout its range.'

Cultivation and uses

Numerous

cultivars A cultivar is a type of cultivated plant that people have selected for desired traits and when propagated retain those traits. Methods used to propagate cultivars include: division, root and stem cuttings, offsets, grafting, tissue culture ...

have been developed for garden use, of which the following have gained the

Royal Horticultural Society The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity. The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr (No ...

Award of Garden Merit The Award of Garden Merit (AGM) is a long-established annual award for plants by the British Royal Horticultural Society (RHS). It is based on assessment of the plants' performance under UK growing conditions. History The Award of Garden Merit ...

: *''A. filix-femina'' 'Vernoniae' *''A. filix-femina'' 'Frizelliae' The young fronds are edible after cooking; Native Americans cooked both the fiddleheads and the rhizomes.

References

External links

*
Plants for a Future: ''Athyrium filix-femina''
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1345500 filix-femina Ferns of the Americas Ferns of Asia Ferns of Europe Ferns of the United States Flora of Ontario Flora of Europe Flora of North America Flora of Asia Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus

Characteristics

Cultivation and uses

References

Further reading

External links