Beech fern is a small, clump-forming woodland fern native to cool northern forests, grown for its delicate, lobed fronds. The key to growing it is cool, moist, shaded conditions with rich, non-acidic soil.
Family
Thelypteridaceae (Thelypterid family)
Grows as
Fern
Light
Part shade, Shade
Water
Keep soil consistently moist but not waterlogged; it likes moisture.
Soil
Rich, moist, humus-rich soil that is neutral to alkaline rather than acidic.
Temperature
Cool to mild; hardy in cold winters, protect from late frost and drying heat.
How easy
Moderate
Native range
Subarctic & Temp. Northern Hemisphere
Climate
temperate
About
Phegopteris connectilis, commonly known as long beech fern, northern beech fern, and narrow beech fern, is a species of clonal fern native to forests of the Northern Hemisphere.
Safety
The phenolic compounds 2,4,6-trihydroxybenzoic acid-4-O-2′,3′,4′,6′-tetraacetylglucoside; 2,4,6-trihydroxybenzoic acid-4-O-2′,3′,6′-triacetylglucoside; 2,4,6-trihydroxybenzoic acid-4-O-3′,4′,6′-triacetylglucoside; 3-O-p-coumaroylshikimic acid; 2-(trans-1,4-dihydroxy-2-cyclohexenyl)-5-hydroxy-7-methoxychromone; kaempferol; and kaempferol-3-O-β-d-glucoside can be isolated from the methanolic extract of fronds of Phegopteris connectilis.
Where it grows
Phegopteris connectilis favors wet habitats: the sides of streams, areas with springs, coniferous swamps and eutrophic paludified hardwood-spruce forests (lehtokorpi in Finnish). Unlike its close relative, Phegopteris hexagonoptera, which is terrestrial, this species is often epipetric as well as terrestrial, able to grow at the bases of rocks and in crevices of shady, moist rock walls.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Phegopteris connectilis 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.