Spring Ferning

Narrow Beech Fern

Despite the return to cold wet weather, we know it is Spring because the fiddleheads are starting to pop up!

We have seen the tiny green Mackay's Fragile Fern fiddleheads grow in size and numbers, but there is still lots more to go. This photo of Narrow Beech Ferns (Phegopteris connectilis) shows the tiny little crowns just starting to emerge from the cold wet earth. They look so shaggy, but their leaflets will slowly unfurl as they grow bigger. Eventually they become beautiful triangular shaped fronds, with the bottom pinnae pointing downward. They generally grow in moist shady areas.

They are similar to Broad Beech Ferns (Phegopteris hexagonoptera), but once you have seen them both, you will be able to see the difference. Broad Beech Ferns are bigger, wider, and have the distinctive feature that the rachis (stem) between the bottom pinnae and the ones immediately above them is winged, while with Narrow Beech it is not. The bottom pinnae of Broad Beech Fern do not point downwards as Narrow Beech Fern do, rather they extend out like a moustache.

We are glad for the rain and hope it will provide the ferns with the moisture they need for their new growth and the season ahead.

Posted: to PV Fern News on Sun, Mar 30, 2025
Updated: Sun, Mar 30, 2025