Photo © John Birks |
Rare, usually in rocky ground or woods. Fronds c 30-100 cm. Pinnae c 5-20 cm. Sori 0.5-1 mm. Skye ID: Lowest pinna the most developed, as in the other Buckler Ferns, with the pinnule nearest the stem on the lower side of the lowest pinna particularly large and resembling a whole pinna from further up the blade. Pinnules flat, not concave like those of D aemula nor convex like (usually) those of D dilatata. Scales at base of stalk dense mid-brown, with or without dark centres, not usually pale like those of D carthusiana, which has narrower fronds. This fern can be very difficult to identify with certainty. Look at all the fronds and all the plants if there is a group of them, rather than puzzling over just one which may not be typical. Other features: Fronds tend not to arch over as those of D dilatata do. Pinnules are more deeply cut than in D dilatata and D carthusiana, with many of them cut almost to the midrib. Fronds grow in tufts from a "crown" like those of D dilatata and unlike those of D carthusiana (which may form small semi-tufts but will have single fronds nearby) |
