Soft shield-fern

Description

Polystichum setiferum, the soft shield-fern, is an evergreen or semi-evergreen fern native to southern and western Europe. The fern's bright green fronds are 30–120 cm (12–47 in) long, usually drooping downslope, with typically 4-10 fronds on a mature plant. The fronds are soft-textured, bipinnate (single-pinnate on small, young plants), with the pinnae opposite on the stalk. Each pinna is 4–14 cm (2–6 in) long, with a large upward-pointing pinnule at the base, and the other pinnules decreasing in size toward the pinna tip; the pinnules have softly bristly tips. Individual fronds live for 9 to 15 months and remain attached to the rhizome after withering. The round sori occupy two rows on either side of the midrib of each pinnule and are covered by a centrally-attached, umbrella-like indusium with fringed edges. They produce light yellow spores.