Leaf

jpm, Tela Botanica · CC BY-SA 2.0

Common polypody

Polypodium vulgare L.

Also known as: Polypody

Family: Polypodiaceae

10 to 30 cm

Walls, rocks, mossy tree trunks, often as an epiphyte

Flowering: Does not flower — reproduces by spores

Part shade

Shade

Very hardy, to -22°C

❓ How do you recognise this plant?

Large, perfectly round bright orange sori, visible to the naked eye on the underside of the frond — no hand lens needed.

🍃 Leaves

Simple fronds, cut into rounded, undivided pinnae, evergreen

🌸 Flowers

No flowers: large, round orange sori clearly visible under the pinnae

🍎 Fruits

No fruits — spores contained in the sori

🪵 Bark

Creeping rhizome covered in brown scales, often at the surface

🗺️ Distribution

Europe, Asia, North America; common in France on rocks, old walls and mossy trunks

🐝 Value for pollinators

Fern reproducing by spores, without flowers or interest for pollinators

✂️ Horticultural uses

Grown in shaded rock gardens or on living walls, valued for its evergreen foliage

ℹ️ Educational profile — do not use it to judge whether a plant is edible or safe.

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