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.