Fern

I drew the fern in two states, one frond still coiled at the tip and one fully open. The coil is the part that stops people. It is a tight spiral, close at the centre and widening as it descends, and it protects the tender growing tip as the frond pushes up through soil and leaf litter. The open frond shows what the coil becomes: leaflet after leaflet, each one distinct. This fern print is a study of the male fern, Dryopteris filix-mas, and it includes the clusters of spore cases on the underside, which belong to the plant as much as the green blade does.

In shortThe male fern, Dryopteris filix-mas, is a woodland fern of the northern temperate zone that reproduces by spores, not seeds. Its new fronds unroll from a tight coil called a fiddlehead. The plate shows one frond still coiled and one fully open, with the spore clusters drawn on the underside.

Key Facts

Why does a fern frond start as a coil?

A new fern frond starts as a coil because the spiral protects the tender growing tip while the frond pushes up through soil and leaf litter. The coiled form is called a crozier or a fiddlehead, after the scroll at the top of a violin. As the frond grows, the spiral loosens and the leaflets unroll into the open, lacy blade.

The spiral is a logarithmic one, tight at the tip and widening as it descends. Nature uses the same kind of curve in nautilus shells, though for different reasons. The habit itself is very old. Fern fossils reach back about 360 million years, long before any flower existed. In the male fern the new fronds rise in a ring from a stout rootstock, which gives the mature plant its shuttlecock shape.

How do ferns reproduce without flowers or seeds?

Ferns reproduce by spores, which are dust-fine single cells carried by the wind. The spores form in small cases, grouped in clusters called sori, on the underside of mature fronds. A single frond can carry millions of them. In the male fern the sori are round and sit in two rows near the midrib of the leaflets, each covered at first by a kidney-shaped flap.

What follows is a stage most people never see. A spore that lands somewhere damp grows into a tiny, flat, green structure called a prothallus. It lives on its own and produces eggs and sperm. The sperm swims through a film of water to reach an egg, and the fertilised egg grows into the fern we recognise. Every fern therefore passes through a moment of swimming, which is one reason ferns belong to damp, shaded places.

Why is it called the male fern, and where does it grow?

The male fern is called male for its sturdy build, which early botanists set against the finer lady fern, Athyrium filix-femina. It is a robust plant, 1 to 1.5 m tall, with lance-shaped fronds that can reach 125 cm. The genus Dryopteris, the wood ferns, is one of the largest groups of ferns.

The male fern grows wild across the temperate northern hemisphere, in damp woodland, along streams and on shaded banks. It takes full or partial shade and tolerates dry shade once established. It is hardy to below minus 20 degrees Celsius, so it survives cold continental winters outdoors. It is a plant for the eye, not the kitchen: it is poisonous if eaten.

Why did the Victorians collect ferns?

Victorian Britain fell for ferns so completely that the craze had a name, pteridomania. Collectors hunted wild species and unusual forms, and fern motifs spread through wallpaper, ceramics, cast iron and textiles.

The appeal is easy to understand. A fern frond is a ready-made pattern: one leaflet shape repeated and divided again and again, each part a small copy of the whole. Ferns also carry meaning beyond Britain. They appear in Māori, Celtic and Japanese traditions, and the silver fern, a New Zealand tree fern, is a national symbol there. A plant that most people walk past without a second look turns out to have a long cultural record.

Drawing the fern

The plate shows the male fern in two states. One frond is still coiled at the tip, the crozier drawn as a tight spiral. The other is fully expanded, with every pinnule distinct along the rachis, so the frond can be read leaflet by leaflet.

I drew the sori as well, the clusters of spore cases on the underside of the frond, because they are as much a part of the plant’s identity as the blade. A photograph usually catches one moment: a coil, or an open frond, or a pale underside. The hand-drawn digital illustration puts the coil, the open blade and the spore clusters in front of you together, so one plate follows the plant from first growth to reproduction.

Where does a fern print work on a wall?

A fern frond brings structure to a shaded corner, so the plate suits a bathroom, a study, a living room or any plant-filled interior. Against white or pale plaster the green stays clear and sharp; in a dark wood frame it deepens. It belongs to the Workspace Green collection, built around calm, structural foliage, and it appears in both the bathroom guide and the houseplant wall guide. In the photograph below, three framed prints show a fern, a monstera leaf and a purple hydrangea flower. For hotels and serviced apartments, the studio plans it within wider hospitality projects.

Fine-art print →

Frequently Asked Questions

Is a fern a flowering plant?

No. Ferns produce neither flowers nor seeds. They reproduce by spores, which form in clusters on the underside of the fronds. A fern frond is also leaf, stem and spore-bearer in one, unlike a flowering plant, where those jobs belong to separate organs. Flowering plants appeared long after the first ferns.

What are the brown dots under my fern’s fronds?

They are usually sori, clusters of spore cases, and a normal sign of a mature, healthy fern. In the male fern they are round and sit in rows near the midrib of each leaflet. They darken to brown as the spores ripen. If the dots are in tidy rows, they are sori, not pests.

Can the male fern grow in dry shade?

Yes, once it is established. The Royal Horticultural Society lists it for full or partial shade and notes that it tolerates dry shade, though it grows lushest with steady moisture. It is hardy to below minus 20 degrees Celsius, so it survives cold winters outdoors.

Is the silver fern the same as the male fern?

No. The silver fern, Alsophila dealbata, is a tree fern from New Zealand with silver-white undersides to its fronds, and it is a national symbol there. The male fern is a temperate woodland fern of the northern hemisphere. They are distant relatives, linked mainly by the fiddlehead coil that nearly all ferns share.

How is this print made, and how does it reach me?

There are two formats. The digital download is a high-resolution file that you print yourself, at home or at a print shop; no physical item is shipped. The fine-art print is printed to order on archival paper or canvas, framed or unframed, in sizes from small prints to over 150 cm (60 inches), and delivered to your door.