Dryopteris / Fern

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.