Crested Wood Fern

The crested wood fern, also called the crested buckler-fern or crested shieldfern, is a perennial fern of the wood fern family Dryopteridaceae native to wetlands across the Northern Hemisphere. It grows in upright clusters of narrow, dark green, slightly leathery fronds that often exceed a meter in height, carried on leaf-stalks about half the blade's length and covered in light brown scales. The species depends on year-round dampness and is confined to consistently wet ground such as swamps, fens and marshes. NatureServe rates it Secure across its range, though its foliage is considered toxic if eaten.