Long beech fern
PHEGOPTERIS CONNECTILIS
Long beech fern is a small perennial fern with a single triangular leaf blade, with the last pair of leaves pointing backwards. On the underside of the greyish-green and hairy leaves are reddish sporadic colonies. Stem is slender and scaly.
Long beech fern grows in moist and grove-like forests, next to streams and is particularly abundant around springs. Its range covers widely the Eurasian and North America.
Long beech fern is also called the Magpies toes and the Frog staircase. Ferns flourished about 300 million years ago during the Carboniferous period, and they have beautified the forest floor and provided nutrition even during the life of dinosaurs.
Long beech fern thrives in shady places and is therefore not very resistant to logging and disappears if the trees are completely removed. The species is also a frost-sensitive, which in turn contributes to avoiding open spaces.
Long beech fern
PHEGOPTERIS CONNECTILIS
wood | deadwood | stage of development | key biotopes |
---|---|---|---|
aspen | aspen | 1-5y | grove |
birch | birch | 6-20y | ridge |
pine | pine | 21-50y | rock |
spruce | spruce | 51-100y | spring |
other | other | stream | |
swamp |

Lady fern
ATHYRIUM FILIX-FEMINA

Male fern
DRYOPTERIS FILIX-MAS

Bracken
PTERIDIUM PINETORUM