Taxonomy

• Kingdom: Plantae
• Clade: Tracheophytes
• Clade: Monilophytes
• Class: Polypodiopsida
• Subclass: Polypodiidae
• Order: Polypodiales
• Suborder: Polypodiineae
• Family: Dryopteridaceae
• Subfamily: Dryopteridoideae
• Genus: Dryopteris
• Species: Dryopteris affinis

Subspecies

Dryopteris affinis subsp. affinis

Dryopteris affinis subsp. borreri

Presence

Present.

Conservation status

• Red List (Metropolitan France): LC Least Concern

Notes

Possible confusion with D. filix-mas (L.) Schott, 1834, which lacks a black spot at the junction of the pinnae with the rachis, while D. affinis has a black spot at the junction of the pinnae with the rachis, visible on the abaxial side.

The following infraspecific taxa are accepted:

• D. affinis subsp. affinis: apogamous diploid (n = 2n = 82)
  • var. affinis
    • f. affinis (Lowe) Fraser-Jenk., 1979, P;
    • f. azorica (Fraser-Jenk.) Fraser-Jenk., 2024;
    • f. cluthensis (A.R.Church) Fraser-Jenk., 2024;
    • f. picoensis Fraser-Jenk., 2024;
  • var. disjuncta (Fomin) Fraser-Jenk., 1980; ¹
  • var. kerryensis Fraser-Jenk., 1996;
  • var. paleaceolobata (T.Moore) Fraser-Jenk., 2021;
  • var. splendens (Ehrler ex Becherer) Fraser-Jenk., 1980;
• D. affinis subsp. atropes Fraser-Jenk., 2022;
• D. affinis subsp. borreri: apogamous triploid (n = 2n = 123)
  • f. borreri (Newman) Fraser-Jenk., 1980, P (hom. syn. D. borreri (Newman) Kinahan, 1856);
  • f. dilatata (Luerss.) Fraser-Jenk., 2024;
  • f. robusta (Oberh. & Tavel ex Fraser-Jenk.) Fraser-Jenk., 2024;
• D. affinis subsp. cambrensis: apogamous triploid (n = 2n = 123)
  • var. austrogallica Fraser-Jenk. & Boudrie, 2024;
  • var. cambrensis Fraser-Jenk., 1987, P (hom. syn. D. cambrensis (Fraser-Jenk.) Beitel & W.R.Buck, 1988);
  • var. distans (Viv.) Fraser-Jenk., 2024;
  • var. insubrica Oberh. & Tavel ex Fraser-Jenk., 1996;
  • var. paleaceocrispa (T.Moore) Fraser-Jenk., 2021;
• D. affinis subsp. jessenii (Fraser-Jenk.) Fraser-Jenk., 2007: apogamous diploid (n = 2n = 82);
• D. affinis subsp. persica Fraser-Jenk., 1980: apogamous triploid (n = 2n = 123);
• D. affinis subsp. pontica Fraser-Jenk., 1996;
• D. affinis subsp. pseudocomplexa (Fraser-Jenk.) Fraser-Jenk., 2022, P (hom. syn. D. pseudocomplexa (Fraser-Jenk.) P.D.Sell, 2018);
• D. affinis subsp. pseudodisjuncta (Fraser-Jenk.) Fraser-Jenk., 1996: apogamous triploid (n = 2n = 123), P (hom. syn. D. pseudodisjuncta (Fraser-Jenk.) Fraser-Jenk., 2007).

Hybridizes with:

• D. filix-mas (L.) Schott, 1834 to produce D. × complexa
  • nothosubsp. complanata (Fraser-Jenk.) Fraser-Jenk., 2024: subsp. pseudodisjuncta, P (hom. syn. D. × complanata Fraser-Jenk., 2007);
  • nothosubsp. complexa: subsp. affinis, tetraploid (2n = 164)
    • nothovar. complexa Fraser-Jenk., 1987: var. affinis, P (hom. syn. D. × complexa Fraser-Jenk., 1987);
    • nothovar. contorta (Fraser-Jenk.) Fraser-Jenk., 2024: var paleaceolobata;
    • nothovar. eschelmuelleri (Fraser-Jenk.) Fraser-Jenk. & Parris, 2021: var. splendens;
    • nothovar. hibernica Fraser-Jenk. & Trewren, 2024: var. kerryensis;
  • nothosubsp. convoluta: subsp. cambrensis, pentaploid (2n = 205)
    • nothovar. convoluta (Fraser-Jenk.) Fraser-Jenk., 2024: var. cambrensis, P (hom. syn. D. × convoluta Fraser-Jenk., 2007);
    • nothovar. occidentalis (Fraser-Jenk.) Fraser-Jenk., 2024: var. paleaceocrispa;
    • nothovar. rufosquama Fraser-Jenk., 2024: var. insubrica;
  • nothosubsp. critica Fraser-Jenk., 1987: subsp. borreri, pentaploid (2n = 205)
    • nothof. critica: f. borreri, P (hom. syn. D. × critica (Fraser-Jenk.) Fraser-Jenk., 2007);
    • nothof. urbachensis (S.Jess. & Bujnoch) Fraser-Jenk., 2024: f. dilatata;
  • nothosubsp. inconspicua (Fraser-Jenk.) Fraser-Jenk., 2022: subsp. pseudocomplexa, pentaploid (2n = 205);
  • nothosubsp. transsilvanica Tlałka, S.Jess., A.Rostański & Rojek, 2019: subsp. jessenii, tetraploid (2n = 164).

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

• Belhacène, L. (2015). État des connaissances pour le complexe Dryopteris affinis s.l. en Haute-Garonne. Isatis, 15, 55-56.

• Frasen-Jenkins, C.R. (2007). The species and subspecies in the Dryopteris affinis group. The Fern Gazette, 18(1), 1-26.

• Prelli, R., & Boudrie, M. (2024). Les fougères et plantes alliées d’Europe (2nd ed., p. 364). Biotope.

• Tison, J.M., & de Foucault, B. (2014). Flora Gallica : Flore de France (p. 12). Biotope.

• Tlałka, D., Jessen, S., Rostański, A., & Rojek, M. (2019). Dryopteris × complexa nothosubsp. transsilvanica: A new hybrid from the Carpathians (Dryopteridaceae, Polypodiophytina). The Fern Gazette, 21(1), 23-24.