Autumn fern vs Common Male Fern

Dryopteris erythrosora compared with Dryopteris filix-mas

Key Differences

• Autumn fern is Not Evaluated while Common Male Fern is Least Concern.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Autumn fern	Common Male Fern
Kingdom same	Plantae (Plants)	Plantae (Plants)
Phylum same	Tracheophyta	Tracheophyta
Class same	Polypodiopsida (Polypodiopsida)	Polypodiopsida (Polypodiopsida)
Order same	Polypodiales (Polypodiales)	Polypodiales (Polypodiales)
Family same	Dryopteridaceae	Dryopteridaceae
Genus same	Dryopteris	Dryopteris
Species	Dryopteris erythrosora	Dryopteris filix-mas

Evolutionary Relationship

Autumn fern and Common Male Fern share a common ancestor at the Genus level: Dryopteris.

Conservation Status

Autumn fern

NE — Not Evaluated

Common Male Fern

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Autumn fern	Common Male Fern
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Autumn fern

Habitat

Typically found in moist, shaded forest floors and tropical canopies.

Range

Widely distributed across Asia (Taiwan), Europe (4 countries), and North America (United States).

Common Male Fern

Habitat

Typically found in moist, shaded forest floors and tropical canopies.

Range

Widely distributed across Europe (7 countries), North America (United States), Oceania and the Pacific (New Zealand), and South America (Chile).

Autumn fern

The Autumn fern (Dryopteris erythrosora) is a species in the genus Dryopteris. Typically found in moist, shaded forest floors and tropical canopies. Dryopteris erythrosora contributes to the biodiversity of its native ecosystems.

Common Male Fern

<em>Dryopteris filix-mas</em>, the common male fern, is a robust, semi-evergreen fern in the family Dryopteridaceae, widely distributed across Europe, North America, Oceania, and South America. It is classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. This species typically grows in moist, shaded forest floors, hedgebanks, rocky slopes, and stream margins, preferring acidic to neutral soils in temperate environments. The common male fern produces large, pinnate fronds that can reach over one metre in length, arising from a central crown of scaly rhizomes. It is one of the most familiar ferns of the Northern Hemisphere and has been used medicinally for centuries, with extracts historically employed as an anthelmintic to treat tapeworm infections. The species reproduces via spores produced in kidney-shaped sori arranged in rows on the undersides of fertile fronds. Common male fern plays an important role in forest ecosystems, providing shelter and habitat structure for invertebrates and small vertebrates across its broad temperate range.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 3 countries:

🇧🇪 Belgium 🇳🇴 Norway 🇺🇸 United States