Not that easy - in order to correctly identify a fern, specialist knowledge is usually required. There are more than 12,000 species worldwide. It's not easy to keep track of things and avoid confusion. Here are the most important fern species in this country with their unmistakable characteristics!
How can I identify a fern?
To identify a fern, you should look at its main characteristics: outline of the fronds, feathering, spore shape and spore arrangement. Fern species can be classified as unpinnate, single or double pinnate, and tripinnate or multipinnate.
The main identifying characteristics of ferns
Since ferns do not produce flowers, fruits or even seeds, there are not many aspects that can be compared among the ferns to distinguish them from one another. The main identifying characteristics are:
- Outline of fronds
- feathering
- Spore shape
- Spore arrangement
Unfeathered fern species
One species of fern is very different from all others. This is the deer's tongue or deer's tongue fern. Its fronds are tongue-shaped and featherless. It can grow both in the garden and in a pot in the apartment.
Simple pinnate fern species
The following fern species have simple pinnate fronds:
- Rib Fern: Spores are on smaller fronds
- Lance shield fern: thorny tips, shield-shaped spore capsules
- Brown-stemmed striped fern: red to black-brown petiole, line-shaped spore capsules
- Green-stemmed striped fern: green leaf stalk, line-shaped spore capsules
- Spotted fern: green leaf stalk, dot-shaped spore capsules
Double pinnate ferns
There are also fern species that have double pinnate fronds. These include the following specimens:
- Common worm fern: broad leaves, kidney-shaped spore capsules
- Comb worm fern: narrow leaves, kidney-shaped spore capsules
- Mountain fern: leaf base narrow, spore capsules on the edge of the leaf
- Swamp fern: leaves small and soft, spore capsules on the edge of the leaf
- Lapped shield fern: thorny tips, tough leaves, shield-shaped spore capsules
- Ostrich fern: ostrich feather-like leaves, spore capsules on smaller fronds
Triple pinnate ferns
Last but not least, there are fern species with triple or multi-pinnate fronds. One representative of this is the maiden (hair) fern, whose spore capsules are line-shaped. Also included are the alpine fern with its round spore capsules, the small bladder fern that grows on rocks, the thorn fern with its thorny tips and kidney-shaped spore capsules, the large-leaved bracken and the triangular-leaved mountain bladder fern.
Tips & Tricks
There are websites on the Internet that provide software for identifying ferns. Identification books for ferns (€26.00 on Amazon) are also available in stores.
