Dryopteris filix-mas
English: Male fern; Worm fern.
Synonym: Nephrodium filix-mas; Aspidium filix-mas; Lastrea filix-mas;Nephrodium crenatum; Polypodium umbilicatum.
Region: temperate Northern Hemisphere, Europe, Asia, North America.
Habitat: damp shaded areas; understory of woodlands, shady places on hedge-banks, rocks, and screes; prefers sunny, well-drained sites when cold.
Botany
Fern; robust; vigorous in growth.
Leaves: semi-evergreen; upright habit; maximum length of 150 cm; single crown on each rootstock; bipinnate with 20 to 35 pinnae on each side of the rachis; taper at both ends; basal pinnae about half the length of the middle pinnae; pinules are rather blunt and equally lobed all around; stalks are covered with orange-brown scales; abaxial surface of the mature blade 5 to 6 sori develop in two rows.
Spores: ripen in August to November, when the indusium starts to shrivels.