Motivated by last year’s fern forays and spurred on by my new membership of the British Pteridological Society, I have decided to try something different this year: a personal challenge to see as many of Britain’s fern species as possible in a single year. The idea being that, by seeking out our ferns, I’ll learn more about them, their habitats, and the subtleties involved in identifying them. This blog will be part #8.
Barnard Castle – 10 May
Back at the start of May, a rare free weekend allowed Matt and me to visit a wonderful ancient woodland tucked away near Barnard Castle. For those unfamiliar with Deepdale, there are excellent resources available online, but suffice it to say that it is a rather special place.
As well as supporting a wide variety of wildflowers and ancient woodland indicator species, the site is also home to some interesting ferns – none more so than Royal Fern Osmunda regalis. A species of heathland, blanket bog and wet woodland, Royal Fern is rare in North East England, largely as a result of Victorian over-collecting and habitat loss. However, it was never as abundant here as it is further west. The Deepdale population is thought to have originated from a historical introduction, but the plants are now thoroughly naturalised and growing in exactly the sort of habitat one might expect. That means they count!
Although we were a little early in the season, we managed to find several fronds beginning to emerge from amongst the tangle of vegetation characteristic of boggy woodland.
While in the area, we also paid a visit to a site reputed to support Lobed Maidenhair Spleenwort Asplenium trichomanes subsp. pachyrachis. We found it readily enough, though the plants looked remarkably different from the ornate, conspicuously lobed examples I am more familiar with in Northumberland. A little further reading suggested that these belonged to Asplenium trichomanes subsp. pachyrachis var. subequale. Despite their somewhat different appearance, they fitted the description well, with overlapping, broadly triangular pinnules, distinctly lobed margins and pinnae attached more or less centrally to the rachis. As ever, there is always something new to learn.
Limestone Country – 24 May
I wrote about this excursion in more detail elsewhere, but fast forward to the end of May, and I finally fulfilled a long-held ambition: visiting and properly botanising an area of limestone pavement. A long drive to Great Asby Scar NNR proved more than worthwhile, and aside from a rather painful sunburn, it was a fantastic day, with an impressive variety of ferns and other limestone-loving plants on display.
Among the highlights were two particularly special species: Rigid Buckler-fern Dryopteris submontana and Limestone Fern Gymnocarpium robertianum, both growing happily amongst the grikes. In truth, there were so many plants scattered across the pavement that we lost count – a testament to the remarkable diversity supported by these precious habitats.
The fern flora did not end there. We also encountered Moonwort Botrychium lunaria, Green Spleenwort Asplenium viride and a host of other species, making for a thoroughly successful trip. Having waited so long to visit a classic limestone pavement site, it was gratifying to find it lived up to expectations.
To the Coast – 31 May
Rather less exhilarating than a trip to Cumbria’s limestone pavements was a Natural History Society of Northumbria outing to the Northumberland coast on the final day of May. While the excursion was not focused on ferns, it did provide a welcome opportunity to catch up – somewhat belatedly – with a familiar fixture of our coastline: Sea Spleenwort Asplenium marinum.
Truthfully, the plants were not looking their best. Weeks of unusually warm, dry weather had left many of the fronds looking rather frazzled, and some plants had retreated into a decidedly less photogenic state. Nevertheless, enough fresh growth remained to show off the species’ distinctive fleshy, once-pinnate fronds, making identification straightforward.
And with that, the tally stood at 36 ferns by the end of May – not a bad total, I think, with plenty of the more challenging species still to come.
With a trip to the Highlands pencilled in for August, a few dates set aside for jaunts to the Lake District and possibly even Lancashire, I’m hoping that there’ll be many more new and exciting species still to come.
Running Total
Seeing as I rarely carry a notebook, we’ll log our running total for the year here…
| #1 Wall-rue | Asplenium ruta-muraria | Tyneside |
| #2 Maidenhair Spleenwort | Asplenium trichomanes subsp. quadrivalens | Tyneside |
| #3 Hart’s-tongue | Asplenium scolopendrium | Tyneside |
| #4 Black Spleenwort | Asplenium adiantum-nigrum | Tyneside |
| #5 Broad Buckler-fern | Dryopteris dilatata | Tyneside |
| #6 Male-fern | Dryopteris filix-mas | Tyneside |
| #7 Soft Shield-fern | Polystichum setiferum | Tyneside |
| #8 Japanese Lace Fern | Polystichum polyblepharum | Tyneside |
| #9 Hard Shield-fern | Polystichum aculeatum | Tyneside |
| #10 Hard Fern | Blechnum spicant | Tyneside |
| #11 Western Scaly Male-fern | Dryopteris affinis subsp. affinis | Tyneside |
| #12 Borrer’s Scaly Male-fern | Dryopteris borreri | Tyneside |
| #13 Lady Clermont’s Spleenwort | Asplenium x clermontiae | Northumberland |
| #14 Rustyback | Asplenium ceterach | Northumberland |
| #15 N/A | Dryopteris borreri morph. robusta | County Durham |
| #16 N/A | Dryopteris borreri forma foliosum | County Durham |
| #17 Greater Scaly Male-fern | Dryopteris affinis subsp. paleaceolobata | Tyneside |
| #18 Tunbridge Filmy-fern | Hymenophyllum tunbrigense | Northumberland |
| #19 Lady-fern | Athyrium filix-femina | Tyneside |
| #20 Adder’s-tongue | Ophioglossum vulgatum | Tyneside |
| #21 Delicate Maidenhair Spleenwort | Asplenium trichomanes subsp. trichomanes | North Yorkshire |
| #22 Narrow Male-fern | Dryopteris cambrensis | North Yorkshire |
| #23 Green Spleenwort | Asplenium viride | North Yorkshire |
| #24 Parsley Fern | Cryptogramma crispa | North Yorkshire |
| #25 Moonwort | Botrychium lunaria | County Durham |
| #26 Holly Fern | Polystichum lonchitis | N/A |
| #27 Oblong Woodsia | Woodsia ilvensis | N/A |
| #28 Western Sword-fern | Polystichum munitum | Northumberland |
| #29 Oak Fern | Gymnocarpium dryopteris | Northumberland |
| #30 Beech Fern | Phegopteris connectilis | Northumberland |
| #31 Polypody | Polypodium vulgare | Northumberland |
| #32 Royal Fern | Osmunda regalis | Yorkshire |
| #33 Lobed Maidenhair Spleenwort | Asplenium trichomanes subsp. pachyrachis | Yorkshire |
| #34 Rigid Buckler-fern | Dryopteris submontana | Cumbria |
| #35 Limestone Fern | Gymnocarpium robertianum | Cumbria |
| #36 Sea Spleenwort | Asplenium marinum | Northumberland |
