| Description | A male fern cultivar with very thin, dark green fronds with crested tips. |
|---|---|
| Pronunciation | (dry-OP-ter-iss) |
| Plant Type | All Plants, Ferns - Hardy |
| Hardiness Zone | (3)4-8 |
| Sunlight | part sun, shaded |
| Moisture | average to moist, can tolerate some drier soils |
| Soil & Site | native to cold, rocky, acid soils. |
| Flowers | non-flowering, reproduce by spores through alternation of generation, evolved prior to flowering plants |
| Fruit | spores |
| Leaves | thin dark green fronds, narrow leathery pinnea, crested multi-forked tip, semi-evergreen |
| Stems | rhizomes |
| Dimensions | 1-3 by 1-3 feet (HS), upright airy growth form |
| Misc Facts | The genus name Dryopteris (Greek) means "oak-fern". The fern is found many times growing in Oak forests. The species name felis-mas means male fern, probably because of its vigorous growth. For centuries an extract of this fern was used to control tapeworms. The chemicals filicin and filmarone found in the oil are toxic to the worms. Polydactal means (poly) many, (dactal) appendages. |
| Notes & Reference | #90-Ferns for American Gardens (John T Mickel), #145-Plant Lives, (Sue Eland) www.plantlives.com, #228-Encyclopedia of Garden Ferns (Sue Olsen) |
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