Osmunda regalis - Royal Fern

The Royal Fern is the largest fern that can be found in our regions. It is a bit like the "tree fern" of cold countries because it forms a "trunk" at the base over time, and it can live for over a century.

Osmunda regalis is a calcifuge perennial (that doesn't like limestone), with long deciduous petiolate leaves that can reach 2 metres (7 feet), which regrows each year from a spongy rhizome.

From a thick stump, in spring first woolly and brittle croziers unfurl, revealing the sterile fronds, majestic, wide and upright, strongly divided, green in color. Then in summer, the fertile fronds follow, longer but thinner, upright and stiff. These latter end in spikes of golden brown sporangia that resemble an inflorescence, earning it the name of Flowering Fern.

The Royal Fern grows in highly humid or flooded environments, on acidic substrates (sands, clays, peat) without limestone; it doesn't tolerate excessive sunlight or too dense shade. With a lot of shade, this Osmunda will develop fewer fertile fronds but will tend to spread more, reaching 3 metres (10 feet) in width. In a clearer situation, numerous fertile fronds will appear from a more stocky, compact plant.

You can plant the Royal Fern at the edges of ponds, streams, and wet rockeries, either alone near a rocky area by the water where it will become the queen, or in shaded areas in large masses.

We cultivate all species near our stream, in the marshy soil of the banks where they show their full value. Its mere presence gives a fantastic character to the most ordinary stream. In its natural protected state, it is found in clear peaty or marshy forests, in peaty coppices, alongside willows or alders.

Avoid mixing it with other ferns, but rather associate the Osmunda regalis with flowers of the undergrowth with which it won't compete. The delicate blooms of Masterworts or Astilbes are very beautiful among ferns. They make great companions for small bulbs such as Snowdrops (Galanthus), which will have their yellowing foliage hidden by the developing fronds, or for purple-flowered Iris versicolour or yellow Iris pseudacorus. The decorative and colourful foliage of Heucheras and Saxifrages is remarkable. A perfect aesthetic harmony can be achieved with certain Japanese maples (Acer palmatum) with laciniated and finely toothed foliage, in cool and sheltered environments from the sun, also superb in autumn with the mix of warm colours.

The genus name of this fern, Osmunda, has many origins attributed to it. This name was given by Mathias de l'Obel. It could come from Osmund, a Germanic deity equivalent to Thor in Norse mythology. Or perhaps it comes from the Latin os, "mouth," and mundo, "to purify, clean," in relation to the antiputrid properties of certain ferns. Osmund is also originally a Saxon name meaning the peace of the hearth: from mund, "peace," and os, "house." Its species name, regalis, means "royal" in Latin.