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Wood ferns (Dryopteris)
Also known as : Male ferns
Wood ferns are a fern genus containing hundreds of species. The species of this genus are known to create hybrids with different sets of chromosomes. They are used as garden ornamentals and can be a great addition to mixed borders or as container plants. Once established, these shade-loving plants are easy to care for. 
Lifespan
Perennial
Plant Type
Herb/Vine
Key Facts About Wood ferns
Feedback
Attributes of Wood ferns
Plant Height
1 m
Spread
1 m
Leaf type
Deciduous
Ideal Temperature
20 - 38 ℃
Trivia and Interesting Facts
Woodfern leaves are like the tail of a squirrel. Each leaf is arranged on the stem in an orderly manner, and gradually shortens from the bottom to the head. The orderly arranged woodfern really soothes obsessive-compulsive disorders.
Scientific Classification of Wood ferns
Distribution of Wood ferns
Feedback
Distribution Map of Wood ferns
Native
Cultivated
Invasive
Potentially invasive
Exotic
No species reported
How to Grow and Care for Wood ferns
Feedback
Wood ferns comprises a variety of ferns, which require consistent moisture and humidity, thrive in dappled light, and favor cool to temperate climates. The genus generally prefers fertile, well-draining soil with a slightly acidic to neutral pH. Gardeners often confront challenges such as aphids, scale insects, and rust diseases. Seasonal considerations include protecting wood ferns from harsh winter conditions and adjusting watering needs to prevent root rot during dormancy.
How to Water Wood ferns?
What Are the Sunlight Requirements for Wood ferns?
How to Propagate Wood ferns?
How to Plant Wood ferns?
Exploring the Wood ferns Plants
Feedback
8 most common species：
Male fern
Male fern thrives in part to full shade, which makes it a nice choice for understandings, or areas that don't get enough sun for other plants to thrive. This graceful plant grows in clumps, will return year after year, and is resistant to rabbits.
Autumn fern
Autumn fern (Dryopteris erythrosora) is an evergreen fern whose new fronds emerge as reddish-orange in spring, providing a colorful contrast against the dark green mature fronds. It prefers partial shade to full shade. Grows best in moist to wet, organically-rich soil.
Spinulose woodfern
The spinulose woodfern (Dryopteris carthusiana) is native to parts of the United States and is commonly found in wetlands. It is used in gardens, particularly in the shady areas of woodland, rock, native plant or wild gardens. Long-living in partial to full shade.
Log Fern
Log Fern (Dryopteris celsa) can be found growing in areas of heavy shade on rich soils and rotten wood in the eastern United States. This plant is a fertile hybrid of the species Dryopteris goldiana and Dryopteris ludoviciana. Log Fern is also grown ornamentally for its complex and attractive leaves.
Intermediate wood fern
The intermediate wood fern is an evergreen fern found across North America and Europe. It's popular for woodland or shade gardens. It is easy to grow in well-drained soils and can tolerate high humidity.
Marginal wood fern
The marginal wood fern is a hardy fern whose tough, leathery fronds stay green all year round. It can grow in full sun to full shade and is extremely drought-tolerant. Sometimes, its rootstock can be exposed, making it look like a small tree.
Scaly male fern
This plant gains its common name Scaly male fern from the scales on its stems. Scaly male fern is popular for this reason and because of its magnificent shuttlecock-shaped fronds. It is very well respected and even won the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.
Spreading woodfern
Spreading woodfern (Dryopteris expansa) is a deciduous fern that thrives in partial to full shade in moist, well-drained soils. Great for woodland gardens where it can get plenty of shade, it is not an invasive or unruly plant. Its brightly colored, light green foliage provides a beautiful background for a variety of flowers.
All Species of Wood ferns
Male fern
Male fern
Male fern thrives in part to full shade, which makes it a nice choice for understandings, or areas that don't get enough sun for other plants to thrive. This graceful plant grows in clumps, will return year after year, and is resistant to rabbits.
Autumn fern
Autumn fern
Autumn fern (Dryopteris erythrosora) is an evergreen fern whose new fronds emerge as reddish-orange in spring, providing a colorful contrast against the dark green mature fronds. It prefers partial shade to full shade. Grows best in moist to wet, organically-rich soil.
Spinulose woodfern
Spinulose woodfern
The spinulose woodfern (Dryopteris carthusiana) is native to parts of the United States and is commonly found in wetlands. It is used in gardens, particularly in the shady areas of woodland, rock, native plant or wild gardens. Long-living in partial to full shade.
Log Fern
Log Fern
Log Fern (Dryopteris celsa) can be found growing in areas of heavy shade on rich soils and rotten wood in the eastern United States. This plant is a fertile hybrid of the species Dryopteris goldiana and Dryopteris ludoviciana. Log Fern is also grown ornamentally for its complex and attractive leaves.
Intermediate wood fern
Intermediate wood fern
The intermediate wood fern is an evergreen fern found across North America and Europe. It's popular for woodland or shade gardens. It is easy to grow in well-drained soils and can tolerate high humidity.
Marginal wood fern
Marginal wood fern
The marginal wood fern is a hardy fern whose tough, leathery fronds stay green all year round. It can grow in full sun to full shade and is extremely drought-tolerant. Sometimes, its rootstock can be exposed, making it look like a small tree.
Scaly male fern
Scaly male fern
This plant gains its common name Scaly male fern from the scales on its stems. Scaly male fern is popular for this reason and because of its magnificent shuttlecock-shaped fronds. It is very well respected and even won the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.
Spreading woodfern
Spreading woodfern
Spreading woodfern (Dryopteris expansa) is a deciduous fern that thrives in partial to full shade in moist, well-drained soils. Great for woodland gardens where it can get plenty of shade, it is not an invasive or unruly plant. Its brightly colored, light green foliage provides a beautiful background for a variety of flowers.
Broad buckler fern
Broad buckler fern
Broad buckler fern is a wide-spreading deciduous semi-evergreen fern that is mistaken for other ferns but is distinguished by its darker center. Its finely cut fronds look similar to lace. Broad buckler fern is resistant to deer and rabbits. When cultivated, it is best used in shaded gardens and woodlands.
Coastal woodfern
Coastal woodfern
Coastal woodfern is a woody, mountain fern of North America that grows between sea level and 1800 m. It's not commonly cultivated, because it hosts Phytophthora ramorum, a plant pathogen that causes Sudden Oak Death (SOD).
Crested woodfern
Crested woodfern
The crested woodfern (Dryopteris cristata) is native to the Northern Hemisphere. It can only grow with year-long moisture as a wetland plant, and fronds are quite high.
Asian pacific beaded wood fern
Asian pacific beaded wood fern
Asian pacific beaded wood fern is a fern with a graceful, arching habit and delicate fronds that unroll from tightly coiled fiddleheads. It thrives in moist, shady forests where its dark green, divided leaves provide textural contrast to the forest floor. The plant's reproductive spores, nestled on the underside of the fronds, facilitate its spread in the cool, damp woodlands where it prefers to grow.
Dryopteris simasakii
Dryopteris simasakii
Dryopteris simasakii is a type of fern known for its lush, dark green fronds that create a textured backdrop in moist, shaded forest floors. Its fronds, often arching and featherlike, spread outwards, contributing to the biodiversity of its woodland habitat. The triangular leaves and the orderly, grid-like pattern of their leaflets make dryopteris simasakii stand out amidst other greenery. Adapted to cooler climates, it thrives under the canopy, forming serene underbrush clusters.
Champion's wood fern
Champion's wood fern
Named after John George Champion, the English botanist who brought the species from China to England, champion's wood fern is a robust evergreen or semi-evergreen fern. It is a popular ornamental fern, particularly due to its fronds that remain through the winter, providing winter interest.
Dryopteris peranema
Dryopteris peranema
Dryopteris peranema is a fern native to Southeast Asia. Like all ferns, this plant propagates itself via a long, tuberous root known as a rhizome. The leaf shape of this plant is typically fernlike, but the small leaf lobes are particularly and characteristically rounded.
Autumn fern 'Brilliance'
Autumn fern 'Brilliance'
Autumn fern 'Brilliance' is a cultivar of the evergreen fern D. erythrosora, characterized by the orange-red-bronze-colored new fronds that appear in the spring and exceptionally bright orange-red ripe spores on the leaves' undersides in the autumn. The color of the young fronds against the old, dark-green ones creates an especially attractive contrast. Autumn fern 'Brilliance' is a winner of the prestigious Royal Horticultural Society's Garden of Merit Award.
Broad buckler fern 'Crispa Whiteside'
Broad buckler fern 'Crispa Whiteside'
Broad buckler fern 'Crispa Whiteside' is a variety of the Broad buckler fern. This cultivar is more compact than the parent plant and other cultivars. It also has fronds that are more heavily ruffled than others. Its name derives from Robert Whiteside, an English fern enthusiast who found the variety.
Dryopteris sacrosancta
Dryopteris sacrosancta
Dryopteris sacrosancta is a resilient fern displaying a lush bouquet of arching fronds that unfurl from a central crown. Its feather-like leaves are divided into numerous smaller leaflets, creating a complex, lacy texture. Thriving in shady, moist woodland areas, dryopteris sacrosancta's robust root system helps it to anchor in the fertile forest floor. Adapted to cooler climates, the plant's verdant fronds contribute to the rich tapestry of the understory foliage.
Dryopteris gymnophylla
Dryopteris gymnophylla
Dryopteris gymnophylla is a perennial fern with arching, lance-shaped fronds that create a delicate, airy texture in shaded garden nooks. Its fronds are made up of contrasting leathery pinnae, suggesting its hardiness and adaptability to cooler understorey climates. This woodland fern thrives in moist, rich soils, unfurling its pale green fronds in a graceful display of woodland elegance.
Tokyo wood fern
Tokyo wood fern
Dryopteris tokyoensis (Tokyo wood fern, 东京鳞毛蕨) is an erect, vase-shaped, deciduous fern native to Japan, as well as Fujian, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangxi, and Zhejiang provinces in China. These ferns grow to 90–110 cm in height, with each frond containing 20–40 pairs of shallow-lobed, lance-shaped pinnae.
Dryopteris caucasica
Dryopteris caucasica
Dryopteris caucasica are a fern genus containing hundreds of species. The species of this genus are known to create hybrids with different sets of chromosomes. They are used as garden ornamentals and can be a great addition to mixed borders or as container plants. Once established, these shade-loving plants are easy to care for.
Japanese holly fern
Japanese holly fern
Japanese holly fern is a strikingly verdant fern that thrives in the dappled shade of forest undergrowth. Its fronds, which can grow up to 1 meter, unfurl in a classic feather-like pattern that provides a lush carpet of greenery. The plant's hardiness allows it to adapt to various cool, moist habitats, making it a resilient component of its ecosystem. The interplay of shadow and moisture is particularly pivotal in japanese holly fern's life cycle, dictating its robustness and spread.
Dryopteris sparsa
Dryopteris sparsa
Dryopteris sparsa is a perennial fern with a lush, green appearance. The plant features widely spaced, lance-shaped fronds that arise in a clump from its base, creating a gracefully arching canopy. The fronds' undersides reveal sori, which are clusters of spore cases aiding in reproduction. Thriving in shady, moist woodlands, dryopteris sparsa's robust structure allows it to compete for light and nutrients, while its root system helps stabilize the soil where it grows.
More Popular Genus
Feedback
Dracaena
Dracaena are popular house plants that are easy to grow. They can tolerate low-light conditions and require little watering. Their leaves range from variegated to dark green. Their characteristic traits include woody stems that grow slowly but offer a striking appearance for small spaces such as apartments or offices.
Fig trees
Fig trees have been cultivated in many regions for their fruits, particularly the common fig, F. carica. Most of the species have edible fruits, although the common fig is the only one of commercial value. Fig trees are also important food sources for wildlife in the tropics, including monkeys, bats, and insects.
Brambles
Brambles are members of the rose family, and there are hundreds of different types to be found throughout the European countryside. They have been culturally significant for centuries; Christian folklore stories hold that when the devil was thrown from heaven, he landed on a bramble bush. Their vigorous growth habit can tangle into native plants and take over.
Maples
The popular tree family known as maples change the color of their leaves in the fall. Many cultural traditions encourage people to watch the colors change, such as momijigari in Japan. Maples popular options for bonsai art. Alternately, their sap is used to create maple syrup.
Prunus
Prunus is a genus of flowering fruit trees that includes almonds, cherries, plums, peaches, nectarines, and apricots. These are often known as "stone fruits" because their pits are large seeds or "stones." When prunus trees are damaged, they exhibit "gummosis," a condition in which the tree's gum (similar to sap) is secreted to the bark to help heal external wounds.
Nightshades
Nightshades is a large and diverse genus of plants, with more than 1500 different types worldwide. This genus incorporates both important staple food crops like tomato, potato, and eggplant, but also dangerous poisonous plants from the nightshade family. The name was coined by Pliny the Elder almost two thousand years ago.
Roses
Most species of roses are shrubs or climbing plants that have showy flowers and sharp thorns. They are commonly cultivated for cut flowers or as ornamental plants in gardens due to their attractive appearance, pleasant fragrance, and cultural significance in many countries. The rose hips (fruits) can also be used in jams and teas.
Oaks
Oaks are among the world's longest-lived trees, sometimes growing for over 1,000 years! The oldest known oak tree is in the southern United States and is over 1,500 years old. Oaks produce an exceedingly popular type of wood which is used to make different products, from furniture and flooring to wine barrels and even cosmetic creams.
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About
Key Facts
Distribution
How To Care
All Species
More Genus
Wood ferns
Dryopteris
Also known as: Male ferns
Wood ferns are a fern genus containing hundreds of species. The species of this genus are known to create hybrids with different sets of chromosomes. They are used as garden ornamentals and can be a great addition to mixed borders or as container plants. Once established, these shade-loving plants are easy to care for.
Lifespan
Perennial
Plant Type
Herb/Vine
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Key Facts About Wood ferns
Feedback
Attributes of Wood ferns
Plant Height
1 m
Spread
1 m
Leaf type
Deciduous
Ideal Temperature
20 - 38 ℃
Trivia and Interesting Facts
Woodfern leaves are like the tail of a squirrel. Each leaf is arranged on the stem in an orderly manner, and gradually shortens from the bottom to the head. The orderly arranged woodfern really soothes obsessive-compulsive disorders.
Scientific Classification of Wood ferns
Distribution of Wood ferns
Feedback
Distribution Map of Wood ferns
Native
Cultivated
Invasive
Potentially invasive
Exotic
No species reported
How to Grow and Care for Wood ferns
Feedback
Wood ferns comprises a variety of ferns, which require consistent moisture and humidity, thrive in dappled light, and favor cool to temperate climates. The genus generally prefers fertile, well-draining soil with a slightly acidic to neutral pH. Gardeners often confront challenges such as aphids, scale insects, and rust diseases. Seasonal considerations include protecting wood ferns from harsh winter conditions and adjusting watering needs to prevent root rot during dormancy.
How to Water Wood ferns?
What Are the Sunlight Requirements for Wood ferns?
How to Propagate Wood ferns?
How to Plant Wood ferns?
Exploring the Wood ferns Plants
Feedback
8 most common species：
Male fern
Male fern thrives in part to full shade, which makes it a nice choice for understandings, or areas that don't get enough sun for other plants to thrive. This graceful plant grows in clumps, will return year after year, and is resistant to rabbits.
Autumn fern
Autumn fern (Dryopteris erythrosora) is an evergreen fern whose new fronds emerge as reddish-orange in spring, providing a colorful contrast against the dark green mature fronds. It prefers partial shade to full shade. Grows best in moist to wet, organically-rich soil.
Spinulose woodfern
The spinulose woodfern (Dryopteris carthusiana) is native to parts of the United States and is commonly found in wetlands. It is used in gardens, particularly in the shady areas of woodland, rock, native plant or wild gardens. Long-living in partial to full shade.
Log Fern
Log Fern (Dryopteris celsa) can be found growing in areas of heavy shade on rich soils and rotten wood in the eastern United States. This plant is a fertile hybrid of the species Dryopteris goldiana and Dryopteris ludoviciana. Log Fern is also grown ornamentally for its complex and attractive leaves.
Show More Species
All Species of Wood ferns
Male fern
Autumn fern
Spinulose woodfern
Log Fern
Intermediate wood fern
Marginal wood fern
Scaly male fern
Spreading woodfern
Broad buckler fern
Coastal woodfern
Crested woodfern
Asian pacific beaded wood fern
Dryopteris simasakii
Champion's wood fern
Dryopteris peranema
Autumn fern 'Brilliance'
Broad buckler fern 'Crispa Whiteside'
Dryopteris sacrosancta
Dryopteris gymnophylla
Tokyo wood fern
Dryopteris caucasica
Japanese holly fern
Dryopteris sparsa
More Popular Genus
Feedback
Dracaena
Dracaena are popular house plants that are easy to grow. They can tolerate low-light conditions and require little watering. Their leaves range from variegated to dark green. Their characteristic traits include woody stems that grow slowly but offer a striking appearance for small spaces such as apartments or offices.
Fig trees
Fig trees have been cultivated in many regions for their fruits, particularly the common fig, F. carica. Most of the species have edible fruits, although the common fig is the only one of commercial value. Fig trees are also important food sources for wildlife in the tropics, including monkeys, bats, and insects.
Brambles
Brambles are members of the rose family, and there are hundreds of different types to be found throughout the European countryside. They have been culturally significant for centuries; Christian folklore stories hold that when the devil was thrown from heaven, he landed on a bramble bush. Their vigorous growth habit can tangle into native plants and take over.
Maples
The popular tree family known as maples change the color of their leaves in the fall. Many cultural traditions encourage people to watch the colors change, such as momijigari in Japan. Maples popular options for bonsai art. Alternately, their sap is used to create maple syrup.
Prunus
Prunus is a genus of flowering fruit trees that includes almonds, cherries, plums, peaches, nectarines, and apricots. These are often known as "stone fruits" because their pits are large seeds or "stones." When prunus trees are damaged, they exhibit "gummosis," a condition in which the tree's gum (similar to sap) is secreted to the bark to help heal external wounds.
Nightshades
Nightshades is a large and diverse genus of plants, with more than 1500 different types worldwide. This genus incorporates both important staple food crops like tomato, potato, and eggplant, but also dangerous poisonous plants from the nightshade family. The name was coined by Pliny the Elder almost two thousand years ago.
Roses
Most species of roses are shrubs or climbing plants that have showy flowers and sharp thorns. They are commonly cultivated for cut flowers or as ornamental plants in gardens due to their attractive appearance, pleasant fragrance, and cultural significance in many countries. The rose hips (fruits) can also be used in jams and teas.
Oaks
Oaks are among the world's longest-lived trees, sometimes growing for over 1,000 years! The oldest known oak tree is in the southern United States and is over 1,500 years old. Oaks produce an exceedingly popular type of wood which is used to make different products, from furniture and flooring to wine barrels and even cosmetic creams.
Your Ultimate Guide to Plants
Identify grow and nurture the better way!
17,000 local species +400,000 global species studied
Nearly 5 years of research
80+ scholars in botany and gardening
Continue reading in our app - it's better
A database of 400000+ plants
unlimited guides at your fingertips...
unlimited guides at your fingertips...
