British Pteridological Society - Fern World

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British Pteridological Society - Fern World

British Pteridological Society - The Society for Fern Enthusiasts. Promoting pteridology through the study of ferns, clubmosses, horsetails and quillworts.

04/10/2026

This weeks instalment of Spore Sunday looks at the linear sori within the Asplenium genus of ferns within the UK.

Want to learn more about ferns and their allies? Join the British Pteridological Society for all your fern knowledge!

Have a fern-tastic day!

02/10/2026

This were showing you some of the Sea spleenwort (Asplenium marinum) at St Govan’s chapel on the Pembrokeshire coast.

Not just for the ferns, this place is a must visit, with a chapel built halfway up a cliff. The location was also featured in the BBC adaptation of Philip Pullman’s “His Dark Materials”!

27/09/2026

Welcome to Spore Sunday!

A helpful video demonstrating how to collect spores from the Hard-fern Struthiopteris spicant (Blechnum spicant). The hard-fern is usually found within woodlands, peat and loam soils in moorlands and coniferous forests. Quite an easy one to spot with its dimorphic fronds; flatter boarder vegetative fronds, and taller vertical fertile fronds.

Once spores are collected they are usually viable and good to sow for the next 3 years, as long as they are kept in a cool dry place.

26/09/2026

Today we’re highlighting the next new video on our YouTube channel. Identifying by James Merryweather. This video helps people identify the UK native species!

We’re thrilled to be hosting James Merryweather’s amazing fern YouTube videos on our page. Each Saturday we will highlight a new video on our page! Head over there and give them a watch!

Love ferns? clubmosses? quillworts? Then this is the place for you. We’re the society responsible for the education, conservation and horticulture of this ancient and unique group of plants. From beginners to experienced professional pteridologists, all are welcome!

25/09/2026

For this week we’ve got some pictures of longtime BPS member Robert Crawford’s garden. What a magnificent selection of ferns.

24/09/2026

In this video Mark from talks about how to look after some of the common UK garden ferns.

We cover:
Bamboo fern (Coniogramme emeiensis)
Japanese painted lady fern (Athyrium japonicum var pictum ‘metalicum’)
Scaly male fern (Dryopteris affinis)

Did you find this video useful? let us know if you’d like to see more in the comments!

This video was recorded during Southport flower show back in August!

22/09/2026

Want to know how to Identify the UK’s woodland ferns? If so you’re in the right place, this week’s covers just that! This is the second part of this post.

The post covers how to identify:
Lady fern (Athyrium filix-femina)
Scaly male fern (Dryopteris affinis)
Narrow buckler fern (Dryopteris carthusiana)
Common polypody (Polypodium vulgare)
Oak fern (Gymnocarpium dryopteris)

Can you think of any we’ve missed?

Next week we’ll be back higlhlighting the ferns that grow in limestone/calcareous habitats

Love ferns? clubmosses? quillworts? Then this is the place for you. We’re the society responsible for the education, conservation and horticulture of this ancient and unique group of plants. From beginners to experienced professional pteridologists, all are welcome!

Thank you to Kieran Heggs and the Authors of the “What’s that fern?” guide for the photographs.

21/09/2026

This weekend we are running a fern Identification workshop in collaboration with the Edge Hill Student Union’s Nature and Gardening Society (Edge Hill's Nature and Gardening Society). The event is open to the public and completely free (though we will take optional cash donations on the day if you enjoy the event and want to support the national collection of Ferns at Edge Hill University).

The details are here and on our website:
Saturday 26th September 2026 10:00am
Fern Identification Workshop - Edge Hill University
Alison Evans will be leading an introductory fern identification workshop focusing on UK native species. The workshop will begin with a short introductory talk followed by using keys to identify fresh material at your own speed. There will also be an optional tour of the National Collection of British Native and Naturalised ferns.
This event is not exclusive to BPS members so feel free to bring along interested friends, family and colleagues!

Let us know if you plan to come or for more information by emailing Kieran Heggs at [email protected]

20/09/2026

Spore Sunday!
On 20th July 2026 I sowed 10 different ferns spores into clean take-away containers. Here is the update of a few tubs exactly 2 months later.

1-3: Dryopteris affinis polydactyla prothallus stage, 2 months on from sowing
4: Tub set up for growth
5: Ripened Dryopteris affinis polydactyla sori, most spores have dropped already
6: The greenhouse set up
7-8: Woodwardia Fimbriata prothallus stage

Next steps: In the next few days I will spray each tub with boiled (and cooled) water. This will allow the s***m to swim across the prothallus to find its egg and complete fertilisation, then hopefully we’ll get to see some tiny fronds growing!

The tubs sit on a high shelf with dappled and semi shaded light, temperature ranges with the climate outside in the UK. With colder nights moving in I will transfer them into the house to continue growing.

Stay tuned for updates on growing from spore!

Love ferns? Clubmosses? Quillworts? Then this is the place for you. We’re the society responsible for the education, conservation and horticulture of this ancient and unique group of plants. From beginners to experienced professional pteridologists, all are welcome!

19/09/2026

Today we’re highlighting the next new video on our youtube channel. Male and Buckler Ferns - made less difficult by James Merryweather. This video helps people identify most of the species of the dreaded Dryopteris genus!

We’re thrilled to be hosting James Merryweather’s amazing fern YouTube videos on our page. Each Saturday we will highlight a new video on our page! Head over there and give them a watch!

Love ferns? clubmosses? quillworts? Then this is the place for you. We’re the society responsible for the education, conservation and horticulture of this ancient and unique group of plants. From beginners to experienced professional pteridologists, all are welcome!

Address

Cromwell Road
London
SW7 5BD

Website

https://allmylinks.com/britpteridsoc

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