The fronds of many ferns keep green nearly all winter, sometimes even until spring. But to find this species in full splendour you 'll have to hurry because in a few weeks its fronds will be gone. This magnificent Soft Shieldfern (Polystichum setiferum) grows in a dark valley, not far from a small spring.
Its long fronds are supple and soft when touched. The frond is bipinnate, divided in small pinnae that are divided again in smaller pinnules. The pinnules are toothed and every tooth has a long soft point. In the image here below, taken in summer, a young fern is shown. The fronds are divided only once, and the pointed tooth on the pinnae are visible. (Or should you call them pinnules?). Characteristic for this species is the larger basal part of the pinna, like the thumb of a mitten.
