Deer_fern
Struthiopteris spicant
Species of fern in the family Blechnaceae
Struthiopteris spicant, syn. Blechnum spicant, is a species of fern in the family Blechnaceae, known by the common names hard-fern[3] or deer fern. It is native to Europe, western Asia, northern Africa, and western North America.[1][4] Like some other species in the family Blechnaceae, it has two types of leaves. The sterile leaves have flat, wavy-margined leaflets 5 to 8 millimeters wide, while the fertile leaves have much narrower leaflets, each with two thick rows of sori on the underside.[5]
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The Latin specific epithet spicant is of uncertain origin, possibly referring to a tufted or spiky habit.[6]
S. spicant is hardy down to −20 °C (−4 °F) and evergreen, growing to 0.5 m (1 ft 8 in).[7] It has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.[8]
The species was first described in 1753 by Carl Linnaeus as Osmunda spicant. It has been placed in a wide range of genera, including Blechnum (as Blechnum spicant).[1] In the Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group classification of 2016 (PPG I), it is placed in the genus Struthiopteris, in the subfamily Blechnoideae.[9]
- A sterile leaf
- A fertile leaf with sori
