Introduction

Welcome to the Fern Site. This is a work in progress, so please be aware that I am continually adding to it and updating it. The current version contains images of most species of British and Irish ferns, including established alien species; also some subspecies and varieties. It does not yet cover hybrids – I hope to be able to include those soon. The guide is arranged so that species can be accessed via the two main headings at the top of each page above (Ferns, and Clubmosses and Quillworts); in alphabetical order by genus via the left navigation bar; or via the index of names(Latin and English). There is no key, but again I hope to include one at a later stage. There are many good keys available in published works. The genus and species classification is based on a number of published sources. I have attempted to give the most up-to-date scientific names; with some species there is disagreement or ambiguity, for example in the classification of Hartstongue Fern and Rustyback Fern. In both these cases I have included them in genus Asplenium. All commonly used English and Latin names I have been able to find in publications of the last twenty years or so are included in the index (names used in these islands, that is. Some day I may get around to including names from other cultures and languages). I have not used classification by family to organise this guide, nor have I included family names in this version – the family organisation of ferns and so-called fern allies has been substantially modified in recent years, and is still not clear, so I have avoided the issue entirely at this stage.