Several ferns have evolved to grow on rocks and cliffs, so man-made walls offer a good alternative habitat. They grow in cracks and crevices, usually in moist and shady situations. Ferns on walls can be seen at all times of year so offer the opportunity to identify plants in winter when most flowers and grasses are not around. Ferns don't produce flowers and instead develop spore producing organs on the underside of the fronds. These can be useful features to help identify the species, but the ferns featured here can all be identified from their leaves. Find out more about ferns in Leicestershire and Rutland in the NatureSpot fern gallery.
If you identify any of these ferns, don't forget to submit a record of your find on NatureSpot.
Hart's-tongue
This is perhaps the easiest fern to identify. The large, shiny fronds grow to 50cm, though usually smaller if on a wall.
How to ID: Simple fronds without lobes.
Where to see it: Walls, rocky places, ditches, woodlands.
Similar species: None.
Wall-rue
This small fern is very common on walls and unlike most 'typical' ferns with its a cluster of stems.
How to ID: Fronds very divided into triangular-rounded lobes, alternating up the stem. Fronds typically up 5-10cm.
Where to see it: Walls.
Similar species: None.
Maidenhair Spleenwort
The sinuous fronts of this lovely small fern give it a reptilian look. Common and can be seen on walls all year round. The spores ripen between May and October.
How to ID: Blackish stalks with long green tapering fronds. The paired lobes are roughly oblong with rounded tips.
Where to see it: Walls, rocks.
Similar species: None.
Black Spleenwort
Less common than other wall ferns such as Wall-rue and Maidenhair Spleenwort, it is always a pleasure to find this lovely plant.
How to ID: 10-30cm long. Shiny, dark green and triangular fronds with purplish-black bases to the stalks. Rounded lobes with serrated edges. Stems have a double groove on the upper surface and and are rounded below.
Where to see it: Walls and rock crevices.
Similar species: Other ferns but none with the features described above.
Rustyback
This is a rare plant locally but found in a few very public places. To cope with drought, it curls up its leaves, revealing the rusty-coloured underside.
How to ID: Fronds 3-20cm, leathery. Rounded leaves alternate up the stalk giving it a zig-zag look. Underside covered in rust-coloured scales.
Where to see it: Walls (particularly mortared stone walls), limestone rock crevices.
Similar species: None.
Polypody agg.
There are several species of Polypody that are hard to tell apart so it is usually recorded as an aggregate. Found naturally on the branches and trunks of old trees in damp shady areas, it is often grown in gardens where the spores spread to nearby walls.
How to ID: Finger-like lobes alternate up the frond, giving a ladder-like look. The fronds can be single and when multiple they don't grow from the same base.
Where to see it: Old trees, walls, rocks, damp woodland.
Similar species: Other Polypodies.
