A very attractive fern which forms a clump of bright green fronds that are finely dissected and lacy. It is an evergreen groundcover that grows about 1m x 1m and it is a very fast growing. It is suitable for a moist wetland garden and it thrives in shade or semi-shade. An ideal plant for containers provided they are in the shade and kept well watered. The name is derived fro the Greek pteris=fern, from pteron = wing, feather; referring to the shape of the pinnae: the symmetrical fronds resemble wings.