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Gymnocarpium dryopteris
Also called Oak Fern, Common Fern, Northern Oak Fern, Western oak fern, Common oak fern
A small, delicate deciduous fern native to cool northern forests of North America and Eurasia, found in coniferous woods and shady slopes. It thrives in cool, moist, shaded conditions with humus-rich, well-drained soil.
Gymnocarpium dryopteris, the western oakfern, common oak fern, oak fern, or northern oak fern, is a deciduous fern of the family Cystopteridaceae. It is widespread across much of North America and Eurasia. It has been found in Canada, the United States, Greenland, China, Japan, Korea, Russia, and most of Europe.
It is a seedless, vascular plant (with xylem and phloem) that reproduces via spores (not seeds or flowers) and have a life cycle with alternating, free-living sporophyte and gametophyte phases.
Oak fern commonly occurs in moist, shady forests, with wet soil and humid conditions. Often found in drainage areas, ditches and north-facing slopes, it thrives in soils that are well-drained and have a ph of 4.5-6.4. Soil texture varies from silty, clay-loams, to sandy gravel. This fern occurs at elevations of 1,700–4,500 ft (520–1,370 m) along moderately steep slopes with north, east and west aspects. As it is extremely sensitive to ecological changes, the northern oak fern is an important moisture indicator species.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Gymnocarpium dryopteris by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
