holly fern vs soft shield-fern

Polystichum lonchitis compared with Polystichum setiferum

Key Differences

• holly fern is Least Concern while soft shield-fern is Near Threatened.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	holly fern	soft shield-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	Polystichum	Polystichum
Species	Polystichum lonchitis	Polystichum setiferum

Evolutionary Relationship

holly fern and soft shield-fern share a common ancestor at the Genus level: Polystichum.

Conservation Status

holly fern

LC — Least Concern

soft shield-fern

NT — Near Threatened

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	holly fern	soft shield-fern
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

holly fern

Habitat

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

Range

Found across Europe (5 countries) and North America (Canada).

soft shield-fern

Habitat

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

Range

Found across Europe (5 countries) and North America (United States). Listed as Near Threatened, this species requires ongoing monitoring to prevent population decline.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 4 countries:

🇧🇪 Belgium 🇩🇰 Denmark 🇳🇴 Norway 🇸🇪 Sweden