Phegopteris connectilis

Phegopteris connectilis — the beech fern — is a perennial fern of the Phegopteridaceae family, widely spread in the temperate and boreal regions of the northern hemisphere, from Europe to the mountains of Asia and North America. In Europe, it is found from the northern plains to the montane and subalpine levels, generally between 800 and 2,000 meters in the Alpine and Pyrenean massifs.

It colonizes cool and shaded undergrowth, mossy rocks, damp hollows, and slopes with acidic, humus-rich soil, well-drained on the surface but always cool in depth. The photos clearly show this affinity for crevices and the bases of rocky blocks where it forms dense colonies through creeping rhizomes.

The fronds reach 15 to 30 cm, borne by a long slender petiole. They are triangular, of a tender and bright green, twice pinnate. An immediately visible distinctive feature is the pair of lower pinnae oriented forward, almost parallel to the rachis, giving the frond a characteristic silhouette.

In cultivation, it requires acidic, humus-rich soil, constantly cool, in shade or dense partial shade. It tolerates neither drought nor calcareous soils.