Dryopteris cristata(L.) A.Gray

crested buckler-ferncrested woodfern

WFO wfo-0001107299 Accepted WFO 2026-06 8 photographs CC BY

Plate 1 figs. a–h · 8 separate observations

Dryopteris cristata, photographed by Оксана Серикова
fig. a Оксана Серикова, CC BY 4.0 / 2022-06-03 / obs. 203602118
Dryopteris cristata, photographed by Steven Lamonde
fig. b Steven Lamonde, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 205750959
Dryopteris cristata, photographed by Steven Lamonde
fig. c Steven Lamonde, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 205763877
Dryopteris cristata, photographed by Марина Садыкова
fig. d Марина Садыкова, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 201348474
Dryopteris cristata, photographed by Steven Lamonde
fig. e Steven Lamonde, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 201417725
Dryopteris cristata, photographed by Steven Lamonde
fig. f Steven Lamonde, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 198958171
Dryopteris cristata, photographed by Violet T.
fig. g Violet T., CC BY 4.0 / obs. 191199845
Dryopteris cristata, photographed by Quinten Wiegersma
fig. h Quinten Wiegersma, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 186979118

Every figure is a research-grade observation under CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA, rehosted with the photographer’s name, the licence and the observation it came from. Photographs under a NonCommercial licence are excluded from this site and are never stored, which costs us a great many pictures and is not negotiable.

Native range 67 botanical countries

Regions where Dryopteris cristata is native: Altay, Krasnoyarsk, West Siberia, Austria, Baltic States, Belarus, Belgium, Central European Russia, Czechia-Slovakia, Denmark, East European Russia, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Hungary, Netherlands, North European Russia, Northwest European Russia, Norway, NW. Balkan Pen., Poland, Romania, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine, Alabama, Alberta, British Columbia, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Manitoba, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Brunswick, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Newfoundland, North Carolina, North Dakota, Nova Scotia, Ohio, Ontario, Pennsylvania, Prince Edward I., Québec, Rhode I., Saskatchewan, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin AltayKrasnoyarskWest SiberiaAustriaBaltic StatesBelarusBelgiumCentral European RussiaCzechia-SlovakiaDenmarkEast European RussiaFinlandFranceGermanyHungaryNetherlandsNorth European RussiaNorthwest European RussiaNorwayNW. Balkan Pen.PolandRomaniaSwedenSwitzerlandUkraineAlabamaAlbertaBritish ColumbiaConnecticutGeorgiaIdahoIllinoisIndianaIowaMaineManitobaMarylandMassachusettsMichiganMinnesotaMissouriMontanaNebraskaNew BrunswickNew HampshireNew JerseyNew YorkNewfoundlandNorth CarolinaNorth DakotaNova ScotiaOhioOntarioPennsylvaniaPrince Edward I.QuébecSaskatchewanTennesseeVermontVirginiaWashingtonWest VirginiaWisconsin DelawareDistrict of ColumbiaRhode I.
Native distribution of Dryopteris cristata, after Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants. Introduced, extinct and doubtful records are excluded, so this is where the plant is from, not everywhere it now grows. Regions too small to draw at this scale are marked with a dot.
RegionTDWG codeContinent
Alabama ALA NORTHERN AMERICA
Alberta ABT
British Columbia BRC
Connecticut CNT
Delaware DEL
District of Columbia WDC
Georgia GEO
Idaho IDA
Illinois ILL
Indiana INI
Iowa IOW
Maine MAI
Manitoba MAN
Maryland MRY
Massachusetts MAS
Michigan MIC
Minnesota MIN
Missouri MSO
Montana MNT
Nebraska NEB
New Brunswick NBR
New Hampshire NWH
New Jersey NWJ
New York NWY
Newfoundland NFL
North Carolina NCA
North Dakota NDA
Nova Scotia NSC
Ohio OHI
Ontario ONT
Pennsylvania PEN
Prince Edward I. PEI
Québec QUE
Rhode I. RHO
Saskatchewan SAS
Tennessee TEN
Vermont VER
Virginia VRG
Washington WAS
West Virginia WVA
Wisconsin WIS
Austria AUT EUROPE
Baltic States BLT
Belarus BLR
Belgium BGM
Central European Russia RUC
Czechia-Slovakia CZE
Denmark DEN
East European Russia RUE
Finland FIN
France FRA
Germany GER
Great Britain GRB
Hungary HUN
Netherlands NET
North European Russia RUN
Northwest European Russia RUW
Norway NOR
NW. Balkan Pen. YUG
Poland POL
Romania ROM
Sweden SWE
Switzerland SWI
Ukraine UKR
Altay ALT ASIA-TEMPERATE
Krasnoyarsk KRA
West Siberia WSB

Not drawn on the map: Great Britain. We hold no public-domain boundary for this region, so it is listed rather than guessed at.

Region boundaries approximated from Natural Earth (public domain) and mapped to TDWG World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions (WGSRPD) level-3 botanical countries (Brummitt 2001). Indicative, not the official WGSRPD geometry.

Also published as 28 synonyms

A synonym is not an error. It is a record of botanists disagreeing, in print, about where this plant belongs. Each of these was somebody’s considered answer.

  • Acrostichum callipteris Ehrh.
  • Aspidium cristatum (L.) Sw.
  • Aspidium cristatum A.Gray
  • Aspidium cristatum var. crenatum Christ
  • Aspidium lancastriense Spreng.
  • Dryopteris cristata var. cristata
  • Dryopteris cristata var. lancastriensis Tidestr.
  • Dryopteris cristata var. mariana Tidestr.
  • Filix cristata (L.) Farw.
  • Filix cristata (L.) Farw.
  • Filix-mas cristata (L.) Farw.
  • Filix-mas cristata (L.) Farw.
  • Lastrea callipteris Newman
  • Lastrea cristata (L.) C.Presl
  • Lastrea lancastriensis (Spreng.) J.Sm.
  • Lastrea lancastriensis (Spreng.) Houlston
  • Lastrea lancastriensis J.Sm.
  • Lophodium callipteris Newman
  • Nephrodium cristatum (L.) Michx.
  • Nephrodium cristatum f. lancastriense Gilbert
  • Nephrodium cristatum f. silvaticum Poyser
  • Nephrodium lancastriense Desv.
  • Polypodium callipteris Ehrh
  • Polypodium cristatum L.

and 4 more.

Sourcesevery claim on this page

  1. World Flora Online Plant List. accepted name, authority, classification. CC0. Retrieved 2026-07-12.
  2. iNaturalist. photographs and flowering annotations, CC0 / CC BY / CC BY-SA only. per photograph. Retrieved 2026-06-27.
  3. Wikidata. common name (P1843), joined on the World Flora Online identifier (P7715). CC0. Retrieved 2026-07-13.
  4. Kew, World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP v16). native distribution by TDWG level-3 botanical country, and life form. CC BY 3.0. Retrieved 2026-06-04.

We publish what we can source and we say so when we cannot. This page has no care advice and no toxicity claim, because we do not yet have those from a source we can cite.