Dryopteris aemula - Hay-scented Buckler-fern
Though frequently a woodland plant, Hay-scented Buckler-fern is also found on many Cornish Hedges and rock cuttings. Such sites are often shaded by trees, but in West Penwith it occurs on Cornish Hedges where there is no tree cover, such as at Boskednan (SW43M) and at Lanyon Quoit (SW43H). In these instances the humidity required by the fern is provided by frequent low cloud cover. At high altitude it grows amongst the tors of both West Penwith (Watch Croft, SW43H, at 252m) and Bodmin Moor (Rough Tor, SX18K, at 400m, Alex Tor, SX17E, at 291m). Low cloud cover is also common on these tors and helps explain the existence of the fern at these heights. In woodland it grows on banks, alongside streams and on sloping ground where there is moisture, but free drainage. Examples of woodland sites are Tremayne Wood (SW72H), Ethy Wood (SX15I) and Armstong's Wood (SX37D), (Murphy (1996).
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Source:
French, C.N., Murphy, R.J. & Atkinson, M. 1999. Flora of Cornwall. Wheal Seton Press, Camborne.