Blechnum


Blechnum, known as hard fern, is a genus of ferns in the family Blechnaceae, subfamily Blechnoideae, according to the Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group classification of 2016. Two very different circumscriptions of the genus are used by different authors. In the PPG I system, based on Gasper et al., Blechnum is one of 18 genera in the subfamily Blechnoideae, and has about 30 species. Other sources use a very broadly defined Blechnum s.l., including accepting only two other genera in the subfamily. The genus then has about 250 species. In the PPG I circumscription, the genus is mostly neotropical, with a few southern African species.

Species

Using the PPG I circumscription, as of 2019, the Checklist of Ferns and Lycophytes of the World accepted the following species and hybrids.
Several species are grown as ornamental plants in gardens.
Blechnum is also a host plant for the butterfly, Anartia fatima, or the banded peacock, which is common in Central America.