Country diary: They look like tiny green toenails. So why the name 'maidenhair' spleenwort? Sara Hudston

Bridport, Dorset: The common fern's name was inspired by another phase of its life cycle, when fronds die off and spindly threads of stem remain in luxuriant, wiry tuftsThe modest clumps of fern clustering on the wall have a strangely reptilian appearance. Their short, slightly wavy green fronds with blackish central stems seem frozen in mid-writhe, as if they are the tails of lizards disappearing into cracks.Maidenhair spleenwort is one of the commonest small ferns. It grows in stony places almost worldwide, with many subspecies and hybrids. The type found most often in the UK thrives on limestone (Asplenium trichomanes subspecies quadrivalens). It's widespread in towns, where the damp, gritty, lime-based mortar of old buildings provides an ideal habitat similar to mountain scree. Shopping in Bridport, I notice it growing on the boundary of a public car park. Continue reading...