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European chain fern
Plate 1 of 4. (c) Rafael Medina, some rights reserved (CC BY) · via iNaturalist

European chain fern

Woodwardia radicans

Woodwardia radicans, the chain fern, European chain fern or rooting chainfern, is a species of fern in the family Blechnaceae, mainly found in Macaronesia and southwestern Europe, but is also found in southern Italy and Crete. Growing to 1.8 m (6 ft) tall by 2 m (7 ft) broad, it is evergreen with arching fronds. The pinnae have curved, finely-toothed segments. The plant derives its common name from the linked sori on the undersides of the fronds.

The specific epithet radicans means "with stems that take root", referring to rooting plantlets appearing at the tips of the fronds.

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Where it lives

Recorded sightings

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geo-referenced records in GBIF, from museums, herbaria and field observers.

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Every page naming Woodwardia radicans in the Biodiversity Heritage Library →

This page is assembled live from iNaturalist, GBIF, Wikipedia, the Source Library and the Internet Archive. It is not yet part of the hand-edited codex. iNaturalist taxon 170339.