Western Sword-fern - Polystichum munitum
A robust evergreen fern forming a large clump of erect, narrowly lance-shaped, dark green, pinnate fronds, the narrow pinnae finely spine-toothed.
Prefers partly shaded, moist well-drained soil.
All year round.
Evergreen perennial.
Infrequent or rarely recorded in Britain.
Rare in the wild in Leicestershire and Rutland; the specimen from Castle Hill Country Park on 10th Jan 2016 is the first record of this species naturalised in VC55. It is occasionally grown in gardens.
It was not recorded in the 1979 Flora survey of Leicestershire.
Leicestershire & Rutland Map
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Species profile
- Common names
- Western Sword-fern
- Species group:
- Ferns & Horsetails
- Kingdom:
- Plantae
- Order:
- Polypodiales
- Family:
- Dryopteridaceae
- Records on NatureSpot:
- 2
- First record:
- 10/01/2016 (Hall, Geoffrey)
- Last record:
- 17/10/2021 (Bedford, Frank)
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% of records within its species group
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