Cryptogramma crispa (L.) R. Br. ex Richardson

Parsley fern

Etymology Crispa means finely waved, or curled.
Description Rhizome: short-creeping, branching, covered with old stipe bases, scales thin, pale brown.
Frond: 30 cm high by 8 cm wide, deciduous, dimorphic, the sterile fronds half the length (to 15 cm) of the fertile ones, blade/stipe ratio: 1:2.
Stipe: straw-colored near the base, scaly at the base, vascular bundles: 2.
Blade: 3-pinnate with reports of more division, deltate to ovate, herbaceous, bright green, glabrous.
Pinnae: 4 to 6 pair, lanceolate, 2-4 cm, the fertile ones contracted; margins toothed; veins free.
Sori: scattered along veins, submarginal, indusium: false, strongly enrolled, sporangia: yellow, maturity: midsummer.
Culture Habitat: among acidic rocks in areas with late-lying snow. Distribution: Europe, at higher altitudes or latitudes. Hardy to -40°C, USDA Zone 2.
Distinctive Characteristics The common name is well-chosen. This is near C. acrostichoides, but more divided and deciduous.
Synonyms
Osmunda crispa L.
Allosorus crispus (L.) Röhling
Cryptogramma crispa
Cryptogramma crispa. Counterclockwise from lower left: habitat among gneiss and Rhacomitrium lanuginosum, mature fertile frond, sterile frond, fertile segments, sterile pinnae, and at center: stipe and rhizome scales.  Illustration from Scandinavian Ferns by Benjamin Øllgaard and Kirsten Tind, Rhodos, 1993.
Cryptogramma crispa
Cryptogramma crispa. Cross-section of stipe: 2 vascular bundles.  Illustration from Scandinavian Ferns by Benjamin Øllgaard and Kirsten Tind, Rhodos, 1993.
C. crispa, sterile frond left, fertile right
Cryptogramma crispa. Fertile frond, left; sterile right.  From Flora Danica, 1761-1864.
Cryptogramma crispa
Cryptogramma crispa. a) shorter sterile and longer fertile fronds, b) sterile pinnules. As variety sitchensis.  Illustration by V. Fulford from Ferns and Fern Allies of Canada, William J. Cody and Donald M. Britton, 1989, © Agriculture Canada, used with permission.
Cryptogramma crispa
Cryptogramma crispa. Creeping habit; sporeling.  Illustration from Scandinavian Ferns by Benjamin Øllgaard and Kirsten Tind, Rhodos, 1993.
Valid XHTML 1.0     Reports of errors and omissions appreciated: toms AT hardyfernlibrary.com (please replace the AT with @)