Struthiopteris spicant

{{Short description|Species of fern in the family Blechnaceae}}

{{Speciesbox

| image = Blechnum spicant (fertile and sterile fronts).jpg

| status = {{TNCStatus}}

| status_system = TNC

| taxon = Struthiopteris spicant

| authority = (L.) F.W.Weiss

| synonyms =

{{Collapsible list

|title = Synonyms

|Acrostichum lineatum|Cav.

|Acrostichum nemorale|Lam.

|Acrostichum spicant|(L.) Willd.

|Asplenium spicant|Bernh.

|Asplenium spicant|Ehrh.

|Blechnum boreale|Sw.

|Blechnum doodioides|Hook.

|Blechnum heterophyllum|Opiz

|Blechnum septentrionale|Sailer

|Blechnum spicant|(L.) Roth

|Homophyllum blechnoides|Merino

|Lomaria borealis|Link

|Lomaria crenata|C.Presl

|Lomaria spicant|Desv.

|Onoclea spicant|Hoffm.

|Osmunda borealis|Salisb.

|Osmunda spicant|L.

|Spicanta borealis|C.Presl

|Struthiopteris doodioides|Trevis.

|Struthiopteris japanensis|Trevis.

}}

| synonyms_ref =

}}

Struthiopteris spicant, syn. Blechnum spicant, is a species of fern in the family Blechnaceae, known by the common names hard-fern{{BSBI 2007|access-date=2014-10-17 }} or deer fern. It is native to Europe, western Asia, northern Africa, and western North America. Like some other species in the family Blechnaceae, it has two types of leaves. The sterile leaves have flat, wavy-margined leaflets 5 to 8 millimeters wide, while the fertile leaves have much narrower leaflets, each with two thick rows of sori on the underside.

The Latin specific epithet spicant is of uncertain origin, possibly referring to a tufted or spiky habit.{{cite book |last=Harrison |first=Lorraine |title=RHS Latin for Gardeners |year=2012 |publisher=Mitchell Beazley |location=United Kingdom |isbn=978-1845337315 }}

S. spicant is hardy down to {{convert|-20|C|F}} and evergreen, growing to {{convert|0.5|m|abbr=on}}.{{cite book|title=RHS A-Z encyclopedia of garden plants|year=2008|publisher=Dorling Kindersley|location=United Kingdom|isbn=978-1405332965|pages=1136}} It has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.{{cite web|title=RHS Plant Selector - Blechnum spicant|url=https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/2320/Blechnum-spicant/Details | accessdate=15 April 2020}}

The species was first described in 1753 by Carl Linnaeus as Osmunda spicant. It has been placed in a wide range of genera, including Blechnum (as Blechnum spicant). In the Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group classification of 2016 (PPG I), it is placed in the genus Struthiopteris, in the subfamily Blechnoideae.

Deer Fern (d8a3b7fc0c9a49369a14b64d60303a38).JPG|In Mount Rainier National Park

Image:Blechnum spicant0.jpg|A sterile leaf

Image:Blechnum.spicant.2.jpg|A fertile leaf with sori

File:Struthiopteris_spicant_Oregon.jpg|Young fern unfurling