Species · genus Asplenium · Aspleniaceae
Hart's-tongue Fern
Asplenium scolopendrium L.
Also known as: Hart's Tonguefern · Hart's-tongue · Hartstonque
Cultivars of A. scolopendrium
The named forms growers keep — each with its own page, each honest about how much we know.
No named cultivars catalogued under A. scolopendrium yet. When growers document a stable, named form, it earns its own page here.
Guide
The species-level account. Cultivar pages build on this and say where they differ.
An unfern-like fern
Hart's tongue fern is an evergreen species that skips the frilly, dissected look most ferns have. Instead it forms a rosette of arching, strap-shaped fronds, rich green and undulate at the margins, giving it a bolder, simpler presence in a shaded border.
Source: RHS
A native of Britain and Ireland
This is one of the ferns genuinely native to Britain and Ireland, found across the temperate Northern Hemisphere more broadly. It carries a scatter of old country names, including buttonhole and Christ's hair, a sign of how long it has been a familiar sight in hedgerows and shaded banks. Its synonym, Phyllitis scolopendrium, turns up in older texts and plant lists.
Source: RHS
Shade, moisture, patience
Hart's tongue fern wants humus-rich soil that stays moist but drains well, and it does its best work in full or partial shade rather than bright midday sun, which can scorch the fronds. It tolerates dry shade once settled, but during its first season it needs regular watering and a good mulch to help it establish. It is unfussy about soil type, growing in chalk, clay, loam or sand, provided the pH sits neutral to alkaline.
Source: RHS
Division or spores
The straightforward route is division of established clumps. It can also be raised from spores, sown as soon as they are ripe and kept at around 15°C.
Source: RHS
Fronds, not fronds-of-fronds
The fronds run 30 to 75cm long, undivided and strap-like rather than feathery, with wavy margins that give the rosette its texture. Turn a frond over and the spores sit in neat transverse stripes, a distinctive underside pattern that helps confirm identification. The 'Angustatum' form is more compact, to about 45cm, with narrower, glossy, ruffled leaves.
Source: RHS
Largely left alone
Grown outdoors, hart's tongue fern is generally pest-free.
Source: RHS
Rust in a wet winter
The main issue to watch for is a rust disease, which can take hold in mild, damp winters. It is also worth noting the fern may be sensitive to fungicides, so any treatment should be considered carefully rather than applied routinely.
Source: RHS
Tidy as needed
There is little routine pruning required beyond removing dead or damaged fronds as they appear.
Source: RHS
Care recipe
The species record — the baseline every cultivar inherits unless it says otherwise.
Care notes are early — not yet verified
- Light
- ai:claude-opus-4-8
- Water
- ai:claude-opus-4-8 (range 5-10d)
- Humidity
- ai:claude-opus-4-8
- Soil
- ai:claude-fable-5
- Care
- ai:claude-fable-5
Medium light
≈ every 10 days
High
5–21 °C
Moist, well-draining mix with added grit or limestone chips
Spores; division
Light balanced feed occasionally in the growing season
Slow
Never flowers — a fern, reproduces by spores
Not yet documented
This is where toxicity lives — every cultivar of this species inherits it and none can override it.
Reference images
Every image credited. Licenses link to their deeds.
PrimarySources: ai:claude-opus-4-8 · ai:claude-opus-4-8 (range 5-10d) · ai:claude-fable-5
Kept true by its growers
Every fact here carries its source. Grow Hart's-tongue Fern yourself? What you’ve observed — how it drinks, how it holds its color, a name that’s off — and a clear photo of your plant are exactly what keep this page honest. Contributions are reviewed before anything changes.
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