COMMON POLYPODY : Polypodium vulgare
This fern is fairly easy to identify. Its leaves/fronds are single pinnate. This technical description simply means that the individual leaflets the frond is divided into, known as the pinnae, aren’t further divided. They grow directly opposite each other on the stem which gives them a herringbone appearance. If this was actually designed, one could imagine the designer zig-zagging the pen across the frond stalk without lifting it (unlike all the others which have indivual leaves opposite each other or in a stepped pattern).
They taper in at both the tip and the bottom of the stem. Unlike most ferns, Hard ferns are evergreen so this means that the slightly aged fronds are still around the following season.
[Not to be confused with Hard Ferns : Blechnum spicant]
Last years fronds are still around even if a bit battered.
A new common polupody fern.
WOODLAND TRUST : https://www.wildlifetrusts.org/wildlife-explorer/ferns-and-horsetails/common-polypody
[For comparison https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/trees-woods-and-wildlife/plants/ferns/hard-fern/]
