Blechnum spicant

It’s quite a little chap as ferns go but it’s evergreen and tough and one of the very few British native plants we do. Sadly, the last ice age didn’t leave us with much of anything except terminal moraines and hanging valleys. You’ll find it nearly always grows on steep banks – of streams usually. Ferns often grow on steep banks. Whether it’s because steep banks offer perfect conditions for spore germination or because ferns just like growing on steep banks – who knows? They can grow to about 1.5ft x 1.5ft but when the fronds are producing spores (always easy to see on the underside of the frond), they can get much longer than that. Why? No idea.