MALE FERN

Living in moist, sheltered, usually shady spots, this Dryopteris produces fronds  a yard or more long, often cascading prettiily down steep slopes. In the Foothills the Male Fern may be less common than the Shield Fern of the same genus, and sometimes it appears with that species. As the picture at the right shows, the male fern's longest frond-subdivisions arise near the middle of the frond. The Shield Fern's longest subdivisions arise near the frond's base.