Plantae > Tracheophyta > Polypodiopsida > Polypodiales > Dryopteridaceae > Dryopteris > Dryopteris cristata

Dryopteris cristata (crested woodfern; crested wood fern)

Synonyms:

Wikipedia Abstract

Dryopteris cristata (L.) A. Gray is a species of fern native to wetlands throughout the Northern Hemisphere. It is known as crested wood fern or crested buckler-fern. This plant is a tetraploid species of hybrid origin, one parent being Dryopteris ludoviciana and the other being the unknown, apparently extinct species, dubbed Dryopteris semicristata, which is also one of the presumed parents of Dryopteris carthusiana. D. cristata in turn is one of the parents of Dryopteris clintoniana, another fern of hybrid origin.
View Wikipedia Record: Dryopteris cristata

Attributes

Allergen Potential [1]  Medium
Screening - Summer [2]  Moderate
Screening - Winter [2]  Porous
Bloom Period [2]  Summer
Drought Tolerance [2]  Low
Fire Tolerance [2]  None
Frost Free Days [2]  4 months
Fruit/Seed Abundance [2]  High
Fruit/Seed Begin [2]  Summer
Fruit/Seed End [2]  Fall
Growth Form [2]  Rhizomatous
Growth Period [2]  Spring, Summer
Growth Rate [2]  Moderate
Hazards [3]  Although we have found no reports for this species, a number of ferns contain carcinogens so some caution is advisable; The fresh plant contains thiaminase, an enzyme that robs the body of its vitamin B complex. In small quantities this enzyme will do no harm to people eating an adequate diet that is rich in vitamin B, though large quantities can cause severe health problems. The enzyme is destroyed by heat or thorough drying, so cooking the plant will remove the thiaminase; However, there have been reports for other species of ferns suggesting that even cooked fronds can have a long term harmful effect. Some caution is therefore advised.
Leaf Type [3]  Evergreen
Lifespan [3]  Perennial
Propagation [2]  Seed
Regrowth Rate [2]  Slow
Root Depth [2]  12 inches (30 cm)
Seed Spread Rate [2]  Slow
Seed Vigor [2]  Medium
Shape/Orientation [2]  Erect
Structure [3]  Fern
Vegetative Spread Rate [2]  Moderate
Flower Color [2]  Brown
Foliage Color [2]  Dark Green
Fruit Color [2]  Brown
Height [3]  20 inches (0.5 m)
Width [3]  16 inches (0.4 m)
Hardiness Zone Minimum [2]  USDA Zone: 3 Low Temperature: -40 F° (-40 C°) → -30 F° (-34.4 C°)
Light Preference [4]  Mixed Sun/Shade
Soil Acidity [4]  Mostly Acid
Soil Fertility [4]  Mostly Infertile
Soil Moisture [4]  Wet
Water Use [2]  High
View Plants For A Future Record : Dryopteris cristata

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External References

USDA Plant Profile

NatureServe Explorer

Citations

Attributes / relations provided by
♦ 1Derived from Allergy-Free Gardening OPALS™, Thomas Leo Ogren (2000)
♦ 2USDA Plants Database, U. S. Department of Agriculture
♦ 3Plants For A Future licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License
♦ 4ECOFACT 2a Technical Annex - Ellenberg’s indicator values for British Plants, M O Hill, J O Mountford, D B Roy & R G H Bunce (1999)
Abstract provided by DBpedia licensed under a Creative Commons License
Species taxanomy provided by GBIF Secretariat (2022). GBIF Backbone Taxonomy. Checklist dataset https://doi.org/10.15468/39omei accessed via GBIF.org on 2023-06-13; License: CC BY 4.0