Hart’s Tongue Fern – Asplenium scolopendrium

Ok . . . So this fern is not exactly what you would call exotic! Even in the Asplenium genus it is the most basic. In fact, I originally planted it in an out-of-the-way place where it hardly ever seen. But what I like about it is the way it colonises old walls and paths. I know it prefers lime soil so I guess it likes to grow in the mortar of damp walls. I think it looks particularly good at this time of year as its strap-like fronds unfurl, I must admit that I do remove some of the old dead and battered fronds from the previous year.

The photo below is Asplenium scolopendrium or Hart’s Tongue Fern taken on May 23rd:

There are many cultivars of Asplenium scolopendrium and their nomenclature is very confusing (to me). I do have a cultivar called (I think) ‘Cristatum’, it is slightly more exotic in that it has crested ends to its fronds. It also has spread about the garden but at the end of the day, I think I prefer the basic, bog standard Asplenium scolopendrium – even if it is a hard name to spell!