Royal Fern

Osmunda regalis var. regalis is widely distributed in Europe and Asia and is widely cultivated as an ornamental.

regalis: regal, royal; referring to the majestic growth of the plant or to King Osmund (Osmunda) of the South Saxons

Rhizome erect to suberect; fronds tufted, glabrous, 60-120 × 30-45 cm. Stipe up to 30 cm long. Lamina up to 1 m, bipinnate and ovate in outline. Sterile pinnules oblong-lanceolate in outline; apex rounded; base asymmetrically truncate; margin minutely serrate. Fertile pinnules situated on the end of the lamina and covered with sporangia.

Frequent

Malawi, Mozambique, Swaziland, Lesotho, South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe. Also high mountains of tropical Africa, temperate parts of Europe, Asia, America, Madagascar, Mascarene Islands

Osmunda regalis ly. Sp. PL 1065. 1753
Osmunda speciabilis Willd. Sp. PI. 5 : 98. 1810. Osmunda glance scens Link, Fil. Sp. 20. 1841. Osmunda mexicana F^e, M^m. Foug. 9: 43 (34). 1857.
Rhizomes and root-masses subterranean or partly aerial, forming tussocks, the roots black ; leaves 35-180 cm. long, partly dimorphic, the stipes 15-60 cm. long, the sheathing bases abruptly narrowed above but not lobed, the stipe and rachis smooth, brown or darkstramineous, polished, glabrous when mature; sterile lamina broadly oblong, 25-120 cm. long, 20-30 cm. broad, obtuse or broadly acute, bipinnate, the pinnae conformably divided, distant, strictly paired and nearly opposite, oblong to ovate-lanceolate or deltoid-ovate, 1140 cm. long, 6-13 cm. broad, broadly acute, oblique, straight, glabrous, dull-green, the pinnules rather distant, very shortstalked, straight, the lateral pinnules oblong, 2-7.5 cm. long, 0.5-2 cm. broad, acute, with unequally truncate to rounded bases, the terminal segment lanceolate, broader, with a cuneate base ; veinlets mostly 2-forked ; fertile lamina in general like the sterile one but usually narrower, owing to the very oblique habit of the pinnae, and with the pinnae in the upper third of the lamina much reduced and contracted, the fertile pinnules mostly erect, consisting of a narrowly winged midvein, and the thickened shortened often forked veinlets densely covered with the cinnamon-brown sporangia.
Type locality : Europe.
Distribution : Eastern North America, Mexico, and the West Indies ; also in South America, Europe, Asia, and South Africa.