Dryopteris marginalis Leather Wood Fern

The most evergreen of our native Dryopteris, easily identified by the sori that sit on the pinnule margins, with handsome leathery glaucous green fronds, it prefers deep rocky pockets of leaf mould, but it will endure some dryness. A good choice for cut fronds it is the epitome of what most people want in a fern. I love the crowns in early spring before the crosiers start to unfurl, sitting there in an inward pointing ring of teeth, surrounded by the outward pointing spokes of last years stems (sensors to warn of approaching prey), the creature at the bottom of Jabba’s sand pit comes to mind.