Gemeiner Wurmfarn vs Leather Wood Fern

Dryopteris filix-mas compared with Dryopteris marginalis

Key Differences

• Gemeiner Wurmfarn is Least Concern while Leather Wood Fern is Not Evaluated.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Gemeiner Wurmfarn	Leather Wood Fern
Kingdom same	Plantae (Pflanzen)	Plantae (Pflanzen)
Phylum same	Tracheophyta	Tracheophyta
Class same	Polypodiopsida (Echte Farne)	Polypodiopsida (Echte Farne)
Order same	Polypodiales (Tüpfelfarnartige)	Polypodiales (Tüpfelfarnartige)
Family same	Dryopteridaceae	Dryopteridaceae
Genus same	Dryopteris	Dryopteris
Species	Dryopteris filix-mas	Dryopteris marginalis

Evolutionary Relationship

Gemeiner Wurmfarn and Leather Wood Fern share a common ancestor at the Genus level: Dryopteris.

Conservation Status

Gemeiner Wurmfarn

LC — Least Concern

Leather Wood Fern

NE — Not Evaluated

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Gemeiner Wurmfarn	Leather Wood Fern
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Gemeiner Wurmfarn

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).

Leather Wood Fern

Habitat

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

Range

Distributed across Canada, Norway, and United States.

Gemeiner Wurmfarn

<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 2 countries:

🇳🇴 Norway 🇺🇸 United States