Western Sword Fern, Polystichum munitum. Lady Fern Athyrium felix femina
FERN LORE: Sword Fern was an important plant for many first peoples in the Pacific Northwest. It's rhizome was cooked and eaten, often when the people faced starvation, and the fronds used to line baking pits and berry drying racks. Various parts of the plant were used to cure dandruff, treat burns and other wounds, even help with childbirth. Besides growing large and grand looking, it is very hardy and easy to grow. You will be hard pressed to walk two blocks in a Seattle neighborhood without finding it. Lady Fern crosiers were eaten by Washington first peoples. Mature fronds were used for laying out of food, especially for drying.
CULTIVATION: Since it's favored habitat is a moist, humus covered forest floor (usually coniferous) , it does best in a well-draining mix of rich humus and small stones, on the acidic side. Sword ferns are very tough, and can survive occasional dry periods, but do well only with consistent moisture, light sunlight, and prefer cool weather to overly warm. Sword Fern responds well to regular, light applications of fertilizer.
Athyrium felix-feminia obviously enjoys the same conditions as sword fern, however it likes a bit more water. My experience with it here is that it prefers more sun than the sword fern as long as the water is sufficient. It also likes organically rich soil.
1
2I saved this plant from an eroding stream bank on the Dingford Creek trail high in the Cascade Mountains. The finest examples of this fern I've encountered are along the trail to Sand Point on the Olympic National Seashore. The Sword Ferns there have fronds up to six feet long. The other fern in the pot is Lady Fern, Athyrium filix-femina which grew from spore in the soil I collected with the sword fern.
Thumbnail 1shows crosiers ready to unfurl in the spring of 2001. Thumbnail 2 shows three fronds unfurling, and was taken three weeks after the above. The image above is the fern four months and two more flushes of fronds later.
