Commonly called "Wood Fern", Dryopteris are often used as food plants by larvae of various moths and butterflies. Many Dryopteris (fern) have slowly creeping rootstocks that form a crown with a ring of fronds. The genus is made up of round sori with kidney-shaped indusia.
Native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere, especially parts of Eastern Asia, Dryopteris (fern) is a popular ornamental plant due to its shapely and colorful leaves.