Dryopteris


 * The moth genus Dryopteris is now considered a junior synonym of Oreta.

Dryopteris, commonly called the wood ferns, male ferns (referring in particular to Dryopteris filix-mas), or buckler ferns, is a fern genus in the family Dryopteridaceae, subfamily Dryopteridoideae, according to the Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group classification of 2016 (PPG I). There are about 300-400 species in the genus. The species are distributed in Asia, the Americas, Europe, Africa, and the Pacific islands, with the highest diversity in eastern Asia. It is placed in the family Dryopteridaceae, subfamily Dryopteridoideae, according to the Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group classification of 2016 (PPG I). Many of the species have stout, slowly creeping rootstocks that form a crown, with a vase-like ring of fronds. The sori are round, with a peltate indusium. The stipes have prominent scales.

Hybridization and polyploidy are well-known phenomena in this group, with many species formed via these processes. The North American Dryopteris hybrid complex is a well-known example of speciation via allopolyploid hybridization.

Selected species
The genus has a large number of species. The PPG I classification suggested there were about 400 species;, the Checklist of Ferns and Lycophytes of the World listed 328 species and 83 hybrids. Some genera sunk into Dryopteris, such as Dryopsis, Stenolepia and Nothoperanema, are distinguished by other sources.


 * Dryopteris abbreviata
 * Dryopteris aemula – hay-scented buckler fern
 * Dryopteris affinis – scaly male fern
 * Dryopteris alpestris
 * Dryopteris amurensis
 * Dryopteris apicisora
 * Dryopteris arguta – coastal wood fern
 * Dryopteris azorica
 * Dryopteris backeri
 * Dryopteris barbigera
 * Dryopteris bissetiana
 * Dryopteris blandfordii
 * Dryopteris bodinieri
 * Dryopteris borreri
 * Dryopteris cambrensis – narrow male fern
 * Dryopteris campyloptera – mountain wood fern
 * Dryopteris canaliculata
 * Dryopteris carthusiana – narrow buckler fern
 * Dryopteris caucasica
 * Dryopteris caudifrons
 * Dryopteris celsa – log fern
 * Dryopteris championii
 * Dryopteris changii
 * Dryopteris chapaensis
 * Dryopteris chinensis
 * Dryopteris chrysocoma
 * Dryopteris cinnamomea – cinnamon wood fern
 * Dryopteris clintoniana – Clinton's wood fern
 * Dryopteris confertipinna
 * Dryopteris cordipinna
 * Dryopteris corleyi
 * Dryopteris costalisora
 * Dryopteris crassirhizoma
 * Dryopteris crinalis
 * Dryopteris crispifolia
 * Dryopteris cristata – crested buckler fern
 * Dryopteris cyatheoides
 * Dryopteris cycadina
 * Dryopteris cyclopeltiformis
 * Dryopteris decipiens
 * Dryopteris dehuaensis
 * Dryopteris dickinsii
 * Dryopteris dilatata – broad buckler fern
 * Dryopteris discrita
 * Dryopteris enneaphylla
 * Dryopteris erythrosa
 * Dryopteris erythrosora – autumn fern
 * Dryopteris expansa – northern buckler fern
 * Dryopteris fibrilosa
 * Dryopteris fibrilosissima
 * Dryopteris filix-mas – male fern
 * Dryopteris floridana
 * Dryopteris formosana
 * Dryopteris fragrans – fragrant buckler fern, fragrant wood fern
 * Dryopteris fructuosa
 * Dryopteris fuscipes
 * Dryopteris gamblei
 * Dryopteris goerigiana
 * Dryopteris goldieana – Goldie's wood fern
 * Dryopteris gongboensis
 * Dryopteris guanchica
 * Dryopteris gushanica
 * Dryopteris gushiangensis
 * Dryopteris gymnophylla
 * Dryopteris gymnosora
 * Dryopteris hasseltii
 * Dryopteris hendersoni
 * Dryopteris hirtipes
 * Dryopteris huanganshanensis
 * Dryopteris hupehensis
 * Dryopteris hwangii
 * Dryopteris hypophlebia
 * Dryopteris immixta
 * Dryopteris inaequalis
 * Dryopteris incisolobata
 * Dryopteris integriloba
 * Dryopteris integripinnula
 * Dryopteris intermedia – intermediate wood fern
 * Dryopteris junlianensis
 * Dryopteris juxtaposita
 * Dryopteris kinkiensis
 * Dryopteris labordei
 * Dryopteris lacera
 * Dryopteris lancipinnula
 * Dryopteris lepidopoda
 * Dryopteris lepidorachis
 * Dryopteris liyangensis
 * Dryopteris ludoviciana – southern wood fern
 * Dryopteris macropholis
 * Dryopteris manshurica
 * Dryopteris marginalis – marginal wood fern
 * Dryopteris matsumurae
 * Dryopteris minjiangensis
 * Dryopteris monticola
 * Dryopteris montigena
 * Dryopteris nanpingensis
 * Dryopteris neolepidopoda
 * Dryopteris nigropaleacea
 * Dryopteris nigrosquamosa
 * Dryopteris nyalamensis
 * Dryopteris nyingchiensis
 * Dryopteris odontoloma
 * Dryopteris oreades – mountain male fern
 * Dryopteris pacifica
 * Dryopteris pallida
 * Dryopteris paludicda
 * Dryopteris panda
 * Dryopteris parasparsa
 * Dryopteris pedata
 * Dryopteris peninsulae
 * Dryopteris podophylla
 * Dryopteris polita
 * Dryopteris prosa
 * Dryopteris pseudo-sikkimensis
 * Dryopteris pseudoatrata
 * Dryopteris pseudodontoloma
 * Dryopteris pseudofibrillosa
 * Dryopteris pseudomarginata
 * Dryopteris pseudouniformis
 * Dryopteris pulcherrima
 * Dryopteris qandoensis
 * Dryopteris quatanensis
 * Dryopteris reflexosquamata
 * Dryopteris remota – scaly buckler fern
 * Dryopteris rigida
 * Dryopteris rosthornii
 * Dryopteris sacrosancta
 * Dryopteris saxifraga
 * Dryopteris scottii
 * Dryopteris semipinnata
 * Dryopteris sericea
 * Dryopteris serrato-dentata
 * Dryopteris shensicola
 * Dryopteris shibipedis
 * Dryopteris sichotensis
 * Dryopteris sieboldii
 * Dryopteris sikkimensis
 * Dryopteris silaensis
 * Dryopteris sino-sparsa
 * Dryopteris sinoerythrosora
 * Dryopteris sinofibrillosa
 * Dryopteris sordidipes
 * Dryopteris sparsa
 * Dryopteris squamifera
 * Dryopteris squamiseta
 * Dryopteris stenolepis
 * Dryopteris subatrata
 * Dryopteris subbarbigera
 * Dryopteris subexaltata
 * Dryopteris sublacera
 * Dryopteris sublaeta
 * Dryopteris submarginata
 * Dryopteris submontana – rigid buckler fern
 * Dryopteris subtriangularis
 * Dryopteris tarningensis
 * Dryopteris tenuicula
 * Dryopteris tenuissima
 * Dryopteris thibetica
 * Dryopteris tieluensis
 * Dryopteris tokyoensis – Tokyo wood fern
 * Dryopteris tsangpoensis
 * Dryopteris tyrrhena
 * Dryopteris uniformis
 * Dryopteris varia
 * Dryopteris venosa
 * Dryopteris villarii
 * Dryopteris wallichiana – alpine wood fern
 * Dryopteris wenchuanensis
 * Dryopteris wuyishanensis
 * Dryopteris yigongensis
 * Dryopteris yungtzeensis
 * Dryopteris zayuensis

Ecology
Dryopteris species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species including Batrachedra sophroniella (which feeds exclusively on D. cyatheoides) and Sthenopiseauratus.

Cultivation and uses
Many Dryopteris species are widely used as garden ornamental plants, especially D. affinis, D. erythrosora, and D. filix-mas, with numerous cultivars.

Dryopteris filix-mas was throughout much of recent human history widely used as a vermifuge, and was the only fern listed in the U.S. Pharmacopoeia. Traditional use in Scandinavia against red mite (Dermanyssus gallinae) infestation is to place fronds in nesting boxes under nesting material and under floor covering material.