Soft shield fern
Polystichum setiferum
Family · Dryopteridaceae · Harmless
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The elegant fern of damp shade whose fronds grow in a rosette and are soft to the touch, the axis covered in cinnamon-coloured scales. Each leaflet has a small ear at its upper corner.
Oak woods · Streams and ditches · Uplands
Also known assoft shield-fern, hedge fern
How to tell it
Fronds to a metre and a half in a circular rosette, soft and flexible, unlike male fern, which is stiff. Twice divided, each segment with a distinct ear at the upper corner next to the axis and a bristle tip. Axis and base covered in orange-brown scales. The sori are round with a shield-shaped cover.
What it is confused with
Male fern
Dryopteris filix-mas
Run a hand along the frond: soft shield fern is soft, male fern stiff and slightly rough. And only the shield fern has the ear at each leaflet's corner and a bristle tip.
What it is for
No use
It indicates well-preserved damp woodland, and the ear at each leaflet's upper corner is one of the most useful marks for telling crown ferns apart without turning the frond over.
Where it occurs
Each square is an area with recorded observations of this plant. The lighter background is the set of areas where any of the entries has been observed, and serves as a reference. Note what this is not: it is not where the plant lives, it is where people record it, so trails and towns always look fuller than the mountains. Data from GBIF.
Sources
Community
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