Scaly male fern facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Scaly male fern
Scientific classification
Genus:	Dryopteris
Species:	affinis

The scaly male fern, also called the golden-scaled male fern, is a type of fern. Its scientific name is Dryopteris affinis. This fern naturally grows in western and southern Europe, and also in southwestern Asia. You can often find it in damp, humid woodlands. It loves places with lots of moisture, like the British Isles and western France. In warmer areas like the Mediterranean, it grows high up in the mountains.

What Does This Fern Look Like?

The scaly male fern is almost always green, even in winter. Its leaves, called fronds, are a bright green color. They can grow quite long, from about 60 to 160 centimeters (2 to 5 feet). These fronds are strong and have a tough feel.

The main stem of the frond is called the rachis. Near the bottom, the rachis is covered in many yellow-brown scales. These scales are called ramenta. The frond itself is divided twice, which means it's "bipinnate." The smaller leaf parts, called pinnae, are about 8 to 18 centimeters (3 to 7 inches) long. The even smaller parts, called pinnules, are shaped like wide rectangles. Their edges are most jagged near the tip of the pinna. You can also spot a dark, almost black, mark where each pinna joins the main rachis.

Each frond lives for about a year and a half. Even after they dry up, they stay attached to the fern's underground stem, called a rhizome. The scaly male fern is quite similar to another fern, the male fern (Dryopteris filix-mas). However, the scaly male fern is usually bigger and its fronds stay green longer. It also has more scales on its stems and its pinnules are more rectangular.

This fern is one of the largest native ferns in Europe. Older plants can grow a thick base that looks a bit like a tree fern. This base can be up to 20 to 30 centimeters (8 to 12 inches) tall and 30 to 40 centimeters (12 to 16 inches) wide.

Growing This Fern in Your Garden

Many different types, or cultivars, of the scaly male fern have been chosen for gardens. These are special versions grown for their unique looks. Several of these have even won an award from the Royal Horticultural Society. This award is called the "Award of Garden Merit."

Here are some of the popular types:

• D. affinis (the main type)
• 'Polydactyla Mapplebeck'
• 'Crispa Gracilis'
• 'Cristata'
• 'Cristata Angustata'

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  Young fronds in spring

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  Ramenta on the fern's rachis

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  'Shuttlecock' form of growth

See also

In Spanish: Dryopteris affinis para niños