Scientific Name:
Blechnum spicant
Pronunciation:
BLEK-num SPIK-ant
Common Name:
deer fern
Family Name:
Blechnaceae
Plant Type:
Fern
Key ID Features:
Fronds are deeply-lobed, once pinnate, rachis grooved, green turning dark brown: vegetative fronds are vase-shaped then becoming horizontal and evergreen, most lanceolate to elliptic, 20-40cm long x 3-9cm wide; pinnae mostly 1-4cm long x 5-7mm wide at base; fertile fronds are upright with much narrower linear pinnae, 4-6cm long x 2-3mm wide, lower surface with two thick rows of sori, and wither after spores are released.
Habit:
Arching, Spreading, Upright
Form:
Mounded, Vase
Texture:
Medium - fine
Mature Height:
0.4 - 0.7m
Mature Spread:
0.3 - 0.6m
Growth Rate:
Fast
Origin:
B.C. west of Cascades, Europe, U.S. - northwest
Hardiness Rating:
Zone 5: (-29 to -23 °C)
Exposure:
Part sun/part shade, Filtered shade, Deep shade
Soil/Growing Medium:
Humus rich, Well-drained
Water Use:
Moderate
Landscape Uses:
Container planting, Filler, Forestry, Group or mass planting, Mixed shrub border, Native planting, Perennial border, Small garden/space, Waterside planting, Woodland margin
Additional Info:
Leaf Morphology:
Form:
Compound, Fern-like
Arrangement:
Basal
Texture/Venation:
Leathery
Surfaces:
Lustrous
Compound Leaf:
Bipinnate
Colour in Summer:
Dark-green
Colour in Fall:
Dark-green
Shapes:
Lanceolate, Linear
Apices:
Mucronate
Bases:
Truncate
Margins:
Entire
Inflorescence Type:
Flower Morphology:
Colour (petals):
No flowers
Flower Time at Peak:
Fruit Type:
Sporangium (spores)
Fruit Colour:
Brown
Fruiting Time:
Jul, Aug
Bark or Stem Colour:
Additional Info:
no above ground stem
Organ Modifications:
Rhizomes
Propagation:
Spore, Division - above ground parts
Maintenance:
Low
Pest Susceptibility:
Rust, Scale insects
Course(s):
- HORT 1155
- Level 2 Apprenticeship
Location(s):
- (GAZ) GAZebo
- (HPZ) Horticulture PlaZa
- (ONW) Overpass North side West
- (PPL) Pine PLanting
- (QRR) Quercus Robur Row planting : S. of pavers
- (TFL) Turf Field Lab
- (TFLW) Turf Field Lab West