74 varieties · 2k gardener saves
Every Dryopteris variety, A to Z
The complete Dryopteris list, the genus most gardeners know as wood fern — all 74 varieties in the Sow catalog, alphabetically. For the ones gardeners actually plant most, start from the Dryopteris hub instead.
A5
- Alpine Wood FernDryopteris ramosa
- Alpine Wood FernDryopteris scottii
- Austral WoodfernDryopteris x australis
- Autumn FernDryopteris purpurella
- Autumn FernDryopteris erythrosora
B11
- Barnes' Male FernDryopteris filix-mas 'Barnesii'
- Bisset's Wood FernDryopteris namegatae
- Bisset's Wood FernDryopteris bissetiana
- Black Wood FernDryopteris nipponensis
- Black-footed Wood FernDryopteris fuscipes
- Brilliance Autumn FernDryopteris erythrosora 'Brilliance Autumn'
- Brilliance Autumn FernDryopteris erythrosora 'Brilliance'
- Broad Buckler FernDryopteris dilatata
- Broad Buckler Fern 'Grandiceps'Dryopteris dilatata 'Grandiceps'
- Broad Buckler Fern 'Recurved Form'Dryopteris dilatata 'Recurved Form'
- Broad Buckler-fernDryopteris dilatata 'Jimmy Dyce'
C8
- Champion's Wood FernDryopteris championii
- Chinese Wood FernDryopteris chinensis 'A1K-193'
- Clinton's Wood FernDryopteris x clintoniana
- Common Male FernDryopteris filix-mas 'Linearis Congesta'
- Common Wood FernDryopteris uniformis
- Corley's Male FernDryopteris corleyi
- corymbed wood fernDryopteris corymbifera
- Cristata Jackson Crested Male FernDryopteris filix-mas 'Cristata Jackson'
F2
- FernDryopteris crassirhizoma
- Formosan Shield FernDryopteris formosana
G3
- Giant Wood FernDryopteris dilatata 'Lepidota Cristata'
- Godzilla Autumn FernDryopteris erythrosora 'Godzilla'
- Goldie's Wood FernDryopteris goldieana
H2
- Hardy Fern MixDryopteris x remota 'Hardy Fern Mix'
- Hondo's FernDryopteris hondoensis
I1
- Indusiate Wood FernDryopteris indusiata
J5
- Japanese Rosy Fern Hardy FernDryopteris erythrosora 'Hardy Fern Collection'
- Japanese Shield FernDryopteris varia
- Jinfoshan Dwarf FernDryopteris bissetiana 'Jinfoshan Dwarf'
- Jinfoshan Giant Wood FernDryopteris bissetiana 'Jinfoshan Giant'
- Jurassic Gold Wood FernDryopteris wallichiana 'Jurassic Gold'
K2
- Kinkiensis Fern Green HansDryopteris kinkiensis 'Green Hans'
- Koidzumi's Wood FernDryopteris koidzumiana
L3
- Linearis Polydactyla Crested Male FernDryopteris filix-mas 'Linearis Polydactyla'
- Log FernDryopteris x separabilis
- Log FernDryopteris x celsa
M7
- Madeira Shield-fernDryopteris ferox
- Male FernDryopteris filix-mas
- Marginal Wood FernDryopteris marginalis
- Mexican Male FernDryopteris pseudofilix-mas
- Mixed Wood FernDryopteris commixta
- Mountain Wood FernDryopteris campyloptera
- Munch's FernDryopteris munchii
N1
- Narrow Scaled Wood FernDryopteris stenolepis
O1
- Odaesan FernDryopteris crassirhizoma 'Odaesan'
P2
- Parsley Male FernDryopteris filix-mas 'Parsley'
- Prolifica Autumn FernDryopteris erythrosora 'Prolifica'
R3
- Remote Wood FernDryopteris x remota
- Rigid Buckler-fernDryopteris villarii
- Robust Male FernDryopteris x complexa
S11
- Sacred Wood FernDryopteris sacrosancta
- Shaggy Shield FernDryopteris cycadina
- Shreveport Log FernDryopteris x celsa 'Shreveport'
- Sichuan Splendor FernDryopteris bissetiana 'Sichuan Splendor'
- Sichuan Wood FernDryopteris xanthomelas 'Sichuan'
- Siebold's Wood FernDryopteris sieboldii
- Southern Wood FernDryopteris ludoviciana
- Spinulose Wood FernDryopteris carthusiana
- Stableri Crisped FernDryopteris x complexa 'Stableri Crisped'
- Stableri Robust Male FernDryopteris x complexa 'Stableri'
- Sublacera FernDryopteris sublacera
T3
- Tassel FernDryopteris polylepis
- Tavel's Wood FernDryopteris x tavelii
- Tokyo Wood FernDryopteris tokyoensis
W4
- Wallich's FernDryopteris wallichiana
- Wallich's Wood FernDryopteris wallichiana 'Tucumanji'
- Western Wood Fern The King FernDryopteris affinis 'The King'
- Wood FernDryopteris fructuosa
Dryopteris list questions
How many Dryopteris varieties are there?
The Sow catalog tracks 74 distinct Dryopteris varieties, all listed above. The wider genus is larger still — this is what is actually available and documented well enough to grow from, rather than every name ever published.
Which Dryopteris varieties are most popular?
The genus hub ranks them by how many gardeners actually save and plant each one, which is a better reliability signal. This page is the complete list in alphabetical order instead — useful when you already know the variety name you are looking for.
Why do two entries have the same name?
Some Dryopteris varieties are sold under the same common name by different nurseries, or a cultivar shares a name with the species it came from. Both records are kept and shown with their botanical names so you can tell them apart, rather than one being silently hidden.
Keep exploring
More on Dryopteris
Design with Dryopteris in your own yard
Snap a photo of your space and see these varieties planted in it — sized correctly, matched to your zone, with care reminders included.