About Dryopteris cristata (L.) A.Gray
Dryopteris cristata (L.) A.Gray has a short rootstock. It grows in sparse, somewhat upright clusters of fronds, which are dark green and slightly leathery in texture. Sterile fronds (fronds without sporangia) are 20–30 cm long and persist over winter. Fertile fronds (fronds with sporangia) are longer, with narrowly ovate leaf blades that are typically only once bipinnate. The stipe (leaf stalk) is roughly half the length of the leaf blade, and covered in light-brown scales. Leaflets are ovate and pinnately lobed.
