Struthiopteris spicant aka Deer Fern

Struthiopteris spicant, also known as Blechnum spicant, is a fern species in the family Blechnaceae. It is commonly referred to as the hard-fern or deer fern and is native to various regions including Europe, western Asia, northern Africa, and western North America. The plant has two types of leaves, with the sterile leaves having flat, wavy-margined leaflets and the fertile leaves having narrower leaflets with two thick rows of sori on the underside. The Latin name spicant possibly refers to its tufted or spiky habit. The plant is hardy and evergreen, growing up to 0.5m and is capable of withstanding temperatures down to -20°C. It has earned the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit. The species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in 1753 as Osmunda spicant and has been placed in various genera, including Blechnum. In the Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group classification of 2016, it belongs to the Struthiopteris genus, in the subfamily Blechnoideae. Deer Fern, which is a rare houseplant, also belongs to the Struthiopteris genus and is native to various regions including Northwestern Africa, Europe to Iran, Japan, and Southern Alaska to the Western United States.