Polystichum braunii(Spenn.) Fée

Braun's hollyfern

WFO wfo-0001109264 Accepted WFO 2026-06 8 photographs CC0 / CC BY

Plate 1 figs. a–h · 8 separate observations

Polystichum braunii, photographed by Юрий Данилевский (Yuriy Danilevsky)
fig. a Юрий Данилевский (Yuriy Danilevsky), CC BY 4.0 / 2022-05-28 / obs. 203438915
Polystichum braunii, photographed by Юрий Данилевский (Yuriy Danilevsky)
fig. b Юрий Данилевский (Yuriy Danilevsky), CC BY 4.0 / obs. 187700860
Polystichum braunii, photographed by Nikolay Martyanov
fig. c Nikolay Martyanov, CC0 1.0 / obs. 161663246
Polystichum braunii, photographed by Марина Садыкова
fig. d Марина Садыкова, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 150738993
Polystichum braunii, photographed by Oleg Kosterin
fig. e Oleg Kosterin, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 160215522
Polystichum braunii, photographed by Christian Berg
fig. f Christian Berg, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 68831557
Polystichum braunii, photographed by Michael D. Pirie
fig. g Michael D. Pirie, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 54220180
Polystichum braunii, photographed by Reuven Martin
fig. h Reuven Martin, CC0 1.0 / obs. 52357371

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 61 botanical countries

Regions where Polystichum braunii is native: Altay, China North-Central, China South-Central, China Southeast, Inner Mongolia, Iran, Japan, Kamchatka, Khabarovsk, Korea, Krasnoyarsk, Kuril Is., Manchuria, North Caucasus, Primorye, Sakhalin, Tibet, Transcaucasus, Türkiye, West Siberia, Xinjiang, Austria, Baltic States, Belarus, Bulgaria, Central European Russia, Czechia-Slovakia, East European Russia, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Northwest European Russia, Norway, NW. Balkan Pen., Poland, Romania, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine, Alaska, British Columbia, Connecticut, Idaho, Labrador, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Brunswick, New Hampshire, New York, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Pennsylvania, Prince Edward I., Québec, Vermont, Wisconsin AltayChina North-CentralChina South-CentralChina SoutheastInner MongoliaIranJapanKamchatkaKhabarovskKrasnoyarskManchuriaNorth CaucasusPrimoryeSakhalinTibetTranscaucasusTürkiyeWest SiberiaXinjiangAustriaBaltic StatesBelarusBulgariaCentral European RussiaCzechia-SlovakiaEast European RussiaFranceGermanyHungaryItalyNorthwest European RussiaNorwayNW. Balkan Pen.PolandRomaniaSpainSwedenSwitzerlandUkraineAlaskaBritish ColumbiaConnecticutIdahoLabradorMaineMassachusettsMichiganMinnesotaNew BrunswickNew HampshireNew YorkNewfoundlandNova ScotiaOntarioPennsylvaniaPrince Edward I.QuébecVermontWisconsin Korea
Native distribution of Polystichum braunii, 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
Altay ALT ASIA-TEMPERATE
China North-Central CHN
China South-Central CHC
China Southeast CHS
Inner Mongolia CHI
Iran IRN
Japan JAP
Kamchatka KAM
Khabarovsk KHA
Korea KOR
Krasnoyarsk KRA
Kuril Is. KUR
Manchuria CHM
North Caucasus NCS
Primorye PRM
Sakhalin SAK
Tibet CHT
Transcaucasus TCS
Türkiye TUR
West Siberia WSB
Xinjiang CHX
Austria AUT EUROPE
Baltic States BLT
Belarus BLR
Bulgaria BUL
Central European Russia RUC
Czechia-Slovakia CZE
East European Russia RUE
France FRA
Germany GER
Hungary HUN
Italy ITA
Northwest European Russia RUW
Norway NOR
NW. Balkan Pen. YUG
Poland POL
Romania ROM
Spain SPA
Sweden SWE
Switzerland SWI
Ukraine UKR
Alaska ASK NORTHERN AMERICA
British Columbia BRC
Connecticut CNT
Idaho IDA
Labrador LAB
Maine MAI
Massachusetts MAS
Michigan MIC
Minnesota MIN
New Brunswick NBR
New Hampshire NWH
New York NWY
Newfoundland NFL
Nova Scotia NSC
Ontario ONT
Pennsylvania PEN
Prince Edward I. PEI
Québec QUE
Vermont VER
Wisconsin WIS

Not drawn on the map: Kuril Is.. 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.

Where it actually grows measured, from 1,918 observations

Condition 5th percentile Median 95th percentile
Coldest month, mean daily low -18.4 °C -10.9 °C -1.5 °C
Warmest month, mean daily high 15.8 °C 22.3 °C 26.1 °C
Annual rainfall 703 mm 1,287 mm 3,681 mm
Rainfall in the driest quarter 103 mm 230 mm 474 mm

It is found where winters are severely cold. This is not care advice and it is not a forecast. It is a measurement: we sampled the climate at every one of the 1,918 research-grade observations of Polystichum braunii that carry a coordinate, and this is the range those places actually span. The 5th and 95th percentiles are used rather than the minimum and maximum, because a single cultivated specimen in a heated conservatory should not widen a tropical plant's range to the Arctic.

This is not a hardiness zone. A USDA zone is the average annual extreme minimum temperature. The figure above is the mean daily minimum of the coldest month, which is a different quantity and is typically far warmer. Reading one as the other would place a plant several zones too warm, so we do not publish a hardiness zone, because we do not have one.

Also published as 17 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.

  • Aetopteron braunii (Spenn.) House
  • Aspidium aculeatum subsp. braunii (Spenn.) Arcang.
  • Aspidium aculeatum subsp. braunii (Spenn.) Celak.
  • Aspidium aculeatum var. braunii (Spenn.) Döll
  • Aspidium aculeatum var. subtripinnatum Milde
  • Aspidium braunii Spenn.
  • Aspidium braunii var. subtripinnatum (Milde) Borbás
  • Aspidium pilosum Schur
  • Dryopteris aculeata var. braunii (Spenn.) Underw.
  • Dryopteris braunii (Spenn.) Underw.
  • Polystichum aculeatum var. braunii (Spenn.) Davenp.
  • Polystichum aculeatum var. braunii (Spenn.) Davenp.
  • Polystichum braunii subsp. purshii (Fernald) Calder & Roy L.Taylor
  • Polystichum braunii var. braunii
  • Polystichum braunii var. clarkei Christ
  • Polystichum braunii var. purshii Fernald
  • Polystichum shennongense Ching, Boufford & K.H.Shing

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.