Struthiopteris spicant

Struthiopteris spicant, syn. Blechnum spicant, is a species of fern in the family Blechnaceae. It is known by the common names hard-fern^[3] or deer fern.

Struthiopteris spicant
Conservation status
Secure  (NatureServe)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Division:	Polypodiophyta
Class:	Polypodiopsida
Order:	Polypodiales
Suborder:	Aspleniineae
Family:	Blechnaceae
Genus:	Struthiopteris
Species:	S. spicant
Binomial name
Struthiopteris spicant (L.) F.W.Weiss
Synonyms[1][2]
Synonyms Acrostichum lineatum Cav. Acrostichum nemorale Lam. Acrostichum spicant (L.) Willd. Asplenium spicant Bernh. Asplenium spicant Ehrh. Blechnum boreale Sw. Blechnum doodioides Hook. Blechnum heterophyllum Opiz Blechnum septentrionale Sailer Blechnum spicant (L.) Roth Homophyllum blechnoides Merino Lomaria borealis Link Lomaria crenata C.Presl Lomaria spicant Desv. Onoclea spicant Hoffm. Osmunda borealis Salisb. Osmunda spicant L. Spicanta borealis C.Presl Struthiopteris doodioides Trevis. Struthiopteris japanensis Trevis.

Description

Like some other species in the family Blechnaceae, it has two types of leaves. The sterile leaves have flat, wavy-margined leaflets 5 to 8 millimetres (1⁄4 to 3⁄8 in) wide, while the fertile leaves have much narrower leaflets, each with two thick rows of sori on the underside.^[4]

• 
  In Mount Rainier National Park
• 
  A sterile leaf
• 
  A fertile leaf with sori
• 
  Young fern unfurling

Taxonomy

The species was first described in 1753 by Carl Linnaeus as Osmunda spicant. It has been placed in a wide range of genera, including Blechnum (as Blechnum spicant).^[1] In the Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group classification of 2016 (PPG I), it is placed in the genus Struthiopteris, in the subfamily Blechnoideae.^[5]

The Latin specific epithet spicant is of uncertain origin, possibly referring to a tufted or spiky habit.^[6]

Distribution and habitat

It is native to Europe, western Asia, northern Africa, and western North America.^[1][7]

S. spicant is hardy down to −20 °C (−4 °F) and evergreen, growing to 0.5 m (1 ft 8 in).^[8]

Uses

The root, shoots and leaves can be cooked as famine food.^[9]

It has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.^[10]