Lemon-scented fern

Lemon-scented fern
Image P. Stroh

In a series of blogposts since January 2018, we've looked at all but one of the botanicals selected by Andy Amphlett, BSBI's County Recorder for Banffshire, and Sandy Jamieson, manager at Speyside Distillery, for inclusion in one of the two expressions of Byron's Gin. Our final botanical is lemon-scented fern Oreopteris limbosperma. 

Lemon-scented fern gets its name from the distinctive lemony smell which comes from yellow glands on the underside of the leaves. If you encounter this fern in the wild, do bruise and sniff a fresh leaf to release the scent! 

This BSBI distribution map shows you where to look for lemon-scented fern. As you'll see, it is very happy in Scotland but absent from many parts of the English east midlands!