The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.

Male Fern

(Dryopteris filix-mas), an herbaceous perennial plant of the family Aspidiaceae. The leaf blades are twice pinnate, and the petiole and the rhizome have large, dark scales. The sori have budlike indusia, which are distributed on the lateral veins of the leaf blade segments. The male fern grows in shaded areas under shrubs in the forest zone of Eurasia and North America. An extract from the rhizome is used as a vermifuge for tapeworms and pinworms. The rhizomes also contain substances (by-products of filicinic acid) that cause muscular paralysis of intestinal parasites.

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References in periodicals archive

You will also find linear male fern in the garden centres and one or two other variations on our most common fern.

Gardening: Shady partners make for the dark corners; Ferns are surging ahead in popularity and are readily available, says Roger Clarke

Select evergreen varieties such as hart's tongue fern (pictured), male fern and soft shield fern that will cope with dim light and dry soil.

Gardening: DESIGN IT

Include a few evergreen varieties such as the glossy- leaved hart's-tongue fern and the male fern, or Dryopteris filix-mas, which has coarse-looking fronds and suits dry and impoverished soil.

GARDENING: DESIGN IT - That's what fronds are for

Soft shield ferns and 'Crispa Cristata' male ferns surround them, all growing above dwarf mondo grass and purple shamrock.

Balancing act

Jamie has been taking out some of the big male ferns, Dryopteris filix-mas, that throng our garden.

TURN OVER A NEW LEAF; Tidying can feel like a chore with each day bringing a fresh carpet of leaves but clearing your garden now will pay dividends next year

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