Irish wildflowers Sitemap More ... Ferns

Male Fern
Dryopteris filix-mas
Raithneach mhadra
Family: Dryopteridaceae

Spores ripen July-August. Deciduous or semi-evergreen. Native.

Forms large stout clumps from thick rhizomes. Mid to dark-green fronds, narrow-oval in outline, broadest in middle and tapering to pointed tips. 50-120cm. Frond segments toothed on sides and tips.
Sori are large, circular, and covered by kidney-shaped flaps.
Sparse pale scales on stems. Leaves usually wither by mid-winter.

Abundant throughout Ireland. Prefers light, well-drained moist soils.
Woodland, hedgebanks, roadsides, ditches, rocky hillsides.

Wrong identification: Photographs are of
Scaly Male Fern, Dryopteris affinis Correction by Paul Green


     


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