Ferns List |
[Osmundaceae] |
Fronds: Green then Brown: |
Spores Ripe: golden-brown |
28th June 2012, Bridgewater Canal, Sale. | Photo: © RWD |
The tallest and perhaps most graceful fern in the UK, usually up to 2m high but can grow even higher to 3m or 4m. |
28th June 2012, Bridgewater Canal, Sale. | Photo: © RWD |
Being hidden by large sterile fronds the sporing shoots can look like the flowering spikes of a fruiting Dock plant, but are a more orangy brown. Because of this it is sometimes known as Flowering Fern. |
28th June 2012, Bridgewater Canal, Sale. | Photo: © RWD |
Grows in wet woods and fens (or beside the un-disturbed far side of canals) usually on acid soils in the West. |
4th July 2012, Bridgewater Canal, Sale, Gtr M/cr. | Photo: © RWD |
Young plants. Fertile fronds are erect, shorter than sterile fronds and bear densely clustered sporangia which are green when un-ripe. |
5th July 2012, Bridgewater Canal, Dunham Massey, Gtr M/cr. | Photo: © RWD |
Fertile fronds at top, sterile fronds underneath. Fertile fronds usually bear 2 to 3 pinnae of paired sterile fronds beneath them (only one pair shown here). |
28th June 2012, Bridgewater Canal, Sale. | Photo: © RWD |
The fronds are broad, slightly drooping and doubly pinnate. |
28th June 2012, Bridgewater Canal, Sale. | Photo: © RWD |
The fertile fronds bearing spores stick upright like flowering spikes. The sterile fronds taper abruptly at the ends and are doubly pinnate with large oblong leaflets. A different fern pokes through the fronds to daylight. |
9th June 2018, a garden, Ormskirk, Lancs. | Photo: © RWD |
Sporangea are unripe green at the summit and becoming riper further down as they turn orange-brown. |
9th June 2018, a garden, Ormskirk, Lancs. | Photo: © RWD |
Sporangia spheres green turning brownish. |
5th July 2012, Bridgewater Canal, Dunham Massey, Gtr M/cr. | Photo: © RWD |
The sun-facing side of the fertile fronds. Stalks appear flat on at least one face. |
5th July 2012, Bridgewater Canal, Dunham Massey, Gtr M/cr. | Photo: © RWD |
The sporangia are amassed in grape-shaped bundles. Green sporangia not yet ripe, when ripe they will split open to release the spores and turn an orangish brown. |
9th June 2018, a garden, Ormskirk, Lancs. | Photo: © RWD |
The spores are more densely packed in these specimens. |
9th June 2018, a garden, Ormskirk, Lancs. | Photo: © RWD |
And look like grapes here. |
4th July 2012, Bridgewater Canal, Sale, Gtr M/cr. | Photo: © RWD |
Sporing fronds stick bolt upright with their side-branches bending upwards. |
4th July 2012, Bridgewater Canal, Sale, Gtr M/cr. | Photo: © RWD |
The fertile fronds become more compact before turning a rusty brown after releasing the spores. |
4th July 2012, Bridgewater Canal, Sale, Gtr M/cr. | Photo: © RWD |
The summit of a fertile and sporing frond. |
4th July 2012, Bridgewater Canal, Sale, Gtr M/cr. | Photo: © RWD |
When ripe the spore cases split open releasing the spores. It is possible that the yellowish specks are stray spores. |
5th July 2012, Bridgewater Canal, Dunham Massey, Gtr M/cr. | Photo: © RWD |
Leaflets from top surface. |
28th June 2012, Bridgewater Canal, Sale. | Photo: © RWD |
Leaflets are oblong and quite different to those of other ferns. |
4th July 2012, Bridgewater Canal, Sale, Gtr M/cr. | Photo: © RWD |
Young fronds lime-green, older ones are a darker green (left). |
5th July 2012, Bridgewater Canal, Dunham Massey, Gtr M/cr. | Photo: © RWD |
Sterile leaflets by transmitted light show yellowish veins. The pinnules have a triangular profile (linear taper) to a rounded termination. The two corners near the rachis are also well-rounded. |
5th July 2012, Bridgewater Canal, Dunham Massey, Gtr M/cr. | Photo: © RWD |
The veins bifurcate twice before reaching the edge where they result in very shallow rounded teeth, resulting in about 4 times as many teeth as there are starting veins - about 50 each side in the above case. The pinnules have exceedingly short stems before the leaflet begins. |
4th May 2016, Bridgewater Canal, Dunham Massey, Gtr M/cr. | Photo: © RWD |
Croziers. |
4th May 2016, Bridgewater Canal, Dunham Massey, Gtr M/cr. | Photo: © RWD |
Croziers unfurling revealing growing leaves. |
9th June 2018, a garden, Ormskirk, Lancs. | Photo: © RWD |
Leaf edges finely-toothed. |
Uniquely identifiable characteristics Distinguishing Feature : The 'flowering spike' containing catkin-like sets of orange-brown spores. The large doubly-pinnate frond of oblong leaflets. It's immense height compared to other ferns! No relation to : Pennyroyal [a plant with similar name]. The only example of its genus in the UK. Grows mainly in the West preferring acid soils in damp woods and woodland bogs or fens or on the far banks of un-disturbed canals. It is becoming rarer due to wetland drainage. There are four varieties worldwide, but only the one, Osmunda regalis var. regalis, grows in the UK.
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Osmunda | regalis | ⇐ Global Aspect ⇒ | Osmundaceae |
Osmunda (Royal Fern) |
[Osmundaceae] |