Etymology From the Greek scolopendra, centipede, alluding to the two rows of sori which resemble the feet of a centipede.

Description Rhizome: erect, short, scales clathrate.
Frond: 40 cm high by 6 cm wide, evergreen, monomorphic, blade/stipe ratio: 3:1 to 5:1.
Stipe: short, purplish-brown, continuing into the rachis, eventually becoming green, scales narrow, pale brown, vascular bundles: 2 C-shaped, back to back, uniting to 1 upwards to an X-shape.
Blade: simple, strap-shaped or lanceolate, heart-shaped base, glossy, bright gree, somewhat leathery, silvery scales, falling soon.
Pinnae: none; margins entire, becoming undulate with age; veins free, forking, stopping short of the margin.
Sori: linear, paired along a vein, in the upper half of the blade, indusium: thin, flap-like, opening toward the vein, whitish, on one side of the sorus, sporangia: brown sporangia from the paired sori merge, maturity: midsummer to late winter.

Culture Habitat: rocky woodlands on limestone. Distribution: central and southern Europe, east to Iran, northwestern Africa, Korea, Japan, Sakhalin, scattered populations in eastern North America. Hardy to -30°C, USDA Zone 4.

Synonyms
Phyllitis scolopendrium (L.) Newman
Phyllitis fernaldiana A. Löve
Phyllitis japonica Komarov subsp. americana (Fernald) A. Löve & D. Löve