Spiny Wood Fern (Dryopteris expansa)

Family: Dryopteridaceae | Edibility: Edible (2/5)

Dryopteris expansa is a FERN growing to 0.4 m (1ft 4in) by 0.5 m (1ft 8in). See above for USDA hardiness. It is hardy to UK zone 3. The seeds ripen from July to September. Suitable for: light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils. Suitable pH: mildly acid and neutral soils. It can grow in full shade (deep woodland) or semi-shade (light woodland). It prefers moist soil.

Edible Parts & Harvest Seasons

Edible Parts: Leaves, Roots/Tubers

Harvest Seasons: Early Summer, Fall, Spring, Winter

Flavor & Culinary Uses

sweet taste when cooked and are said by some people to develop a flavour rather like sweet potatoes. — Root - raw or cooked.; Baked and then peeled before being eaten.; The raw root is rather bitter but they develop a sweet taste when cooked and are said by some people to develop a flavour rather like sweet potatoes.; The root is best harvested in early autumn.

Habitat & North American Range

Cool moist woods, often on rotting logs and tree stumps. (Zone 3, Zone 4, Zone 5, Zone 6, Zone 7)