Dryopteris cristata

Dryopteris cristata is a species of fern native to wetlands throughout the Northern Hemisphere. It is known as crested wood fern[1] or crested buckler-fern.[2] This plant is a tetraploid species of hybrid origin, one parent being Dryopteris ludoviciana and the other being the unknown, apparently extinct species, dubbed Dryopteris semicristata, which is also one of the presumed parents of Dryopteris carthusiana. D. cristata in turn is one of the parents of Dryopteris clintoniana, another fern of hybrid origin.

Dryopteris cristata

Secure  (NatureServe)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Class: Polypodiopsida
Order: Polypodiales
Suborder: Polypodiineae
Family: Dryopteridaceae
Genus: Dryopteris
Species:
D. cristata
Binomial name
Dryopteris cristata

The crested wood fern is a wetlands plant, needing year-round moisture. The fronds often grow quite tall, up to a meter or more in height, but are extremely narrow under most conditions.

Anti-microbial properties

It is known that this plant has been used as an anti-microbial agent; for example, root extracts from D. cristata (as well as the kindred species D. arguta) has been shown efficacious in expelling intestinal parasites from certain mammals.[3]

Notes
  1. U.S. Department of Agriculture. 2009
  2. "BSBI List 2007". Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland. Archived from the original (xls) on 2015-01-25. Retrieved 2014-10-17.
  3. C. Michael Hogan. 2008
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References
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