Athyrium filix-femina (L.) Roth, 1799

Common names

• 🇬🇧 Lady-fern
• 🇫🇷 Fougère femelle, Polypode femelle, Athyrium fougère-femelle

Taxonomy

• Kingdom: Plantae
• Clade: Tracheophytes
• Clade: Monilophytes
• Class: Polypodiopsida
• Subclass: Polypodiidae
• Order: Polypodiales
• Suborder: Aspleniineae
• Family: Athyriaceae
• Genus: Athyrium
• Species: Athyrium filix-femina

Presence

Present.

Conservation status

• Red List (Metropolitan France): LC Least Concern
• Red List (Europe): LC Least Concern

Notes

Possible confusion A. distentifolium Tausch ex Opiz, 1820, which has round sori, while A. filix-femina has elongated, often curved sori.

The following infraspecific taxa are accepted:

• A. filix-femina subsp. californicum (Butters) Hultén, 1962 (Unconfirmed);
• A. filix-femina subsp. filix-femina (L.) Roth, 1799: diploid (2n = 80), P;
• A. filix-femina subsp. sitchense (Rupr.) Tzvelev, 1991.

Hybridizes with A. distentifolium Tausch ex Opiz, 1820 to produce A. × reichsteinii Schneller & Rasbach, 1984, P.

Photographs

Sources

• Badré, F., & Deschatres, R. (1979). Les Ptéridophytes de la France : liste commentée des espèces (taxinomie, cytologie, écologie et répartition générale). Candollea, 34(2), 379-457. https://doi.org/10.5169/seals-880127

• Christenhusz, M., Bento Elias, R., Dyer, R., Ivanenko, Y., Rouhan, G., Rumsey, F., & Väre, H. (2017). Athyrium filix-femina (Europe assessment). The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, 2017. https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/83611120/85426269

• Prelli, R., & Boudrie, M. (2024). Les fougères et plantes alliées d’Europe (2nd ed., p. 334). Biotope.

• Tison, J.M., & de Foucault, B. (2014). Flora Gallica : Flore de France (p. 9). Biotope.