Plant Name

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Asplenium ceterach (Syn. Ceterach officinarum)

Common Name

Rusty-back Fern

Fern Type

The Spleenworts.
 

Soil

Chalk, Limestone

Sun Aspect

Part Shade

Soil Moisture

Dry

Plant Type

Terrestrial Evergreen Fern

Height x Spread in feet

0.5 x 0.7

Foliage Colour and Shape/ Division

Yellow-green, leathery and the underside is densely clothed with silvery brown scales. Pinnatifid shape.

Frond Length

2-8 inches

Comment

Erect Form. Native UK plant.

A dwarf fern which grows in rock crevices and frequently naturalizes the mortar in old walls. It is very drought resistant so that it can be grown in a small pot or limestone rock garden. An Organic mulch is very beneficial.

See Rusty-back Fern in the Wildflower Gallery.

Use of Fern

• Suitable for Terrariums
• Ferns found on Limestone or Basic Soils (Calciphiles)