Athyrium filix-femina var. angustum

Lady fern

Habitat at RBG: Wet forest/swamp

Rare, but was spotted in 2000 at Cootes Paradise.

The lady fern is often confused with Dryopteris species by beginners, but even sterile fronds are easily distinguished by their shape, which is widest well above the base, with the lower pinnae sloping down (being likened to skirts or petticoats and thus associated with the common name). The typical form of var. angustum , with a green rachis, is often found growing with a form having a reddish rachis, which apparently also differs in having smaller, more widely spaced pinnae.