Dryopteris affinis Scaly Male-fern

A common, large, perennial species of woodland and hedgerow throughout Britain, which thrives particularly in the oceanic climate of the west. The fronds arise from a robust rhizome system to form typical clusters of  'shuttlecock' form. The stalks are abundantly and conspicuously scaly, much more so than the equally common Male Fern (Dryopteris filix-mas). It often dies back in winter, but some plants can remain evergreen under mild, wet conditions. The large fronds of  mature plants are conspiculously broader in the middle which gives them a somewhat elliptical shape. The pinnules are more or less untoothed with bluntly rounded lobes and those nearest the the stalk don't produce the overlapping 'thumb' that is characteristic of Narrow Scaly Male-fern (Dryopteris cambrensis). There is a conspicuous dark blotch on the underside of the frond where the pinnae meet the stalk (rachis). The spore-producing structures (sporangia) on the underside of the pinnnae have a 'pie crust' form when they are mature. Scaly male-fern is an abundant and widespread fern of woodland, hedgerow and other shaded habitats in West Glamorgan.

Native

NOTE: Scaly Male-fern is part of a complex aggregate of apogamous species sometimes referred to as Dryopteris affinis agg. In these plants spores are produced without sexual reproduction which are identical genetically with their parents. Effectively, the prothallus gives rise to a sporophyte directly without fusion of gametes, so the new plant is a clone of its parent. As with apomictic complexes like Hawkweeds (Hieracium spp.) and Brambles (Rubus spp.) this can lead to the evolution of distinct microspecies. Consequently, some other relatively distinct taxa have been named within the Scaly Male-fern complex. The most distinctive and relevant to the flora of West Galmorgan flora are Borrer's Scaly Male-fern (Dryopteris borreri) and Narrow Scaly Male-fern (Dryopteris cambrensis).