You have probably already encountered a fern in the forest. Some plant lovers fall in love with these delicate plants and want to plant them in their own garden. But can such a fern simply be dug up from the forest?
Can you dig up ferns from the forest and take them with you?
In Germany, numerous fern species are protected, such as shield fern species and striped fern species. In addition, some fern species are even strictly protected and are on the Red List of Endangered Plants. Therefore, it is generally not permitted to dig up or pick ferns from the wild.
Protected fern species
There are a number of fern species that are protected in Germany. These include, above all, many species of shield ferns and striped fern species. Here are the copies that are considered protected:
- Lapped Shield Fern
- Delicate shield fern
- Lance Shield Fern
- Awn Shield Fern
- Azores striped fern
- Spleen fern
- Serpentine Striped Fern
- Jurassic striped fern
- Foreser striped fern
- Lanceleaved Striped Fern
- Krauser Rollfern
- comb fern
- Mountain Bladder Fern
- Sudeten Bladder Fern
- Eyelash Ferns
In addition to these ferns, which are generally rarely found in our latitudes, there are the king fern and deer's tongue fern, which are also considered protected. They can be found more frequently and prefer to grow in open forests. You are not allowed to dig up any roots of any of the species mentioned and take them home with you, for example.
Strictly protected fern species
There are also fern species that are on the Red List of Endangered Plants of the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation. These are considered 'strictly protected' and not a single part of the plant may be collected or damaged:
- Rustic Fern
- Skin fern
- Multipartite rue fern
Identifying a fern
Identifying ferns is not difficult, but identifying them exactly by type is very difficult. All ferns belong to the vascular spore plants. They are divided into roots, stems and leaves. There are deciduous, wintergreen and evergreen species, although the evergreen species are not hardy in this country.
Most ferns have feathery fronds. When they shoot, they unroll in a snail-like shape. On their underside are the spores that mature in summer and are used for reproduction. Ferns do not produce flowers, fruits or seeds.
Tips & Tricks
As a layperson, it is difficult to distinguish or identify different species of ferns in the wild. You should therefore refrain from picking or digging up ferns right away. Otherwise, if you're unlucky, you'll have to face a hefty fine.
