Common polypody
size:
fronds 10 to 50 centimeters
color:
fronds: green
sori: vary from bright yellow to orange, turning dark gray when mature
reproduction:
spores, July to September
- Dut: Eikvaren
- Lat: Polypodium vulgare
- Eng: Common Polypody
- Ger: Tüpfelfarn
- Fren: Polypode vulgaire
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- Common polypody, foto fitis, sytske dijksen
Common polypody
Common polypody contains a substance 500 times sweeter than sugar! It has been used for its taste qualities in sweets such as nougat. The plant also has many medicinal qualities. Since ancient times, it hab been used as a laxative and a remedy for coughs, hepatitis, etc. The new sori, which hold the spores, are on the underside of fresh fronds (leaves). When unripe, you can barely see them since they are practically the same color as the frond. But once they start to ripen, they are the most characteristic part of the plant.
- Distribution and habitat
- Common polypody, foto fitis, sytske dijksen
Although you find common polypody throughout the Netherlands, it is the most common in the dunes. It grows best on calcium-poor sandy soils and on slopes that do not get direct sunlight nor in deep shaded areas. Northern dune slopes are typical places to find it. However, it also grows on old walls, cracks in rocks, rocky undergrowth and by the base of tree. Common polypody is often seen growing together with creeping willow. If the soil is poor in calcium, then crowberry is also prominent.
See also
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