The 37 more common fern species included in the key are widely distributed throughout at least half of Britain and Ireland and are in most cases common in suitable, albeit sometimes restricted, habitats over that area. They are listed below with the scientific name (also referred to as the ‘Latin binomial’), the usual English name (also known as the ‘common name’), and the family.
In the list, the scientific name is followed by the authority, that is, the name(s), in abbreviated form, of the botanist(s) who defined and described the plant under that name. This avoids any confusion if the same name has been used for different groups of plants but for simplicity the authority is omitted when a species is referred to later in the key. The scientific name is important because it is consistent worldwide, whereas common names vary with language and even locality – the same plant may have different English names in different parts of Britain. The scientific names and the family name also convey information about relationships. The first scientific name is the genus (plural ‘genera’) and the second name is the species (plural ‘species’). Species in the same genus are closely related and inter-specific hybrids may occur between some of them, whereas species in different genera are more distantly related and rarely hybridise. Genera that are grouped within the same Family share certain basic characters which indicate a common evolutionary origin.
| SCIENTIFIC NAME | ENGLISH NAME | FAMILY | |
 | Asplenium adiantum-nigrum L. | Black Spleenwort | Aspleniaceae |
 | A. ceterach L. | Rustyback Fern | |
 | A. marinum L. | Sea Spleenwort | |
 | A. ruta-muraria L. | Wall Rue | |
 | A. septentrionale (L.) Hoffm. | Forked Spleenwort | |
 | A. scolopendrium L. | Hart's Tongue Fern | |
 | A. trichomanes L. | Maidenhair Spleenwort | |
 | A. viride Huds. | Green Spleenwort | |
 | Athyrium filix-femina (L.) Roth. | Common Lady Fern | Woodsiaceae |
 | Blechnum spicant (L.) Roth | Hard Fern, Deer Fern | Blechnaceae |
 | Botrychium lunaria (L.) Swartz | Moonwort | Ophioglossaceae |
 | Cryptogramma crispa (L.) Hook. | Parsley Fern | Adiantaceae |
 | Cystopteris fragilis (L.) Bernh. | Brittle Bladder Fern | Woodsiaceae |
 | Dryopteris aemula (Ait.) Kuntze | Hay-scented Buckler Fern | Dryopteridaceae |
 | D. affinis (Lowe) Fras.-Jenkins | Scaly Male Fern | |
 | D. carthusiana (Vill.) H.P.Fuchs | Narrow Buckler Fern | |
 | D. dilatata (Hoffm.) A.Gray | Broad Buckler Fern | |
| D. expansa (C.Presl.) Fras.-Jenkins & Jermy | Northern Buckler Fern | |
 | D. filix-mas (L.) Schott | Common Male Fern | |
 | D. oreades Fomin | Mountain Male Fern | |
 | Gymnocarpium dryopteris (L.) Sm. | Common Oak Fern | Woodsiaceae |
 | G. robertianum (Hoffm.) Newman | Limestone Oak Fern | |
 | Hymenophyllum tunbrigense (L.) Sm. | Tunbridge Filmy Fern | Hymenophyllaceae |
 | H. wilsonii Hooker | Wilson's Filmy Fern | |
 | Ophioglossum vulgatum L. | Common Adder's Tongue | Ophioglossaceae |
 | Oreopteris limbosperma (Bellardi ex All.) J. Holub | Mountain Fern | Thelypteridaceae |
 | Osmunda regalis L. | Royal Fern | Osmundaceae |
 | Phegopteris connectilis (Michx.) Watt | Beech Fern | Thelypteridaceae |
 | Pilularia globulifera L. | Pillwort | Marsileaceae |
 | Polypodium cambricum L. | Southern Polypody | Polypodiaceae |
 | P. interjectum Shivas | Western Polypody | |
 | P. vulgare L. | Common Polypody | |
 | Polystichum aculeatum (L.) Roth | Hard Shield Fern | Dryopteridaceae |
 | P. lonchitis (L.) Roth | Holly Fern | |
 | P. setiferum Forskal | Soft Shield Fern | |
 | Pteridium aquilinum (L.) Kuhn | Bracken | Dennstaedtiaceae |
 | Thelypteris palustris Schott | Marsh Fern | Thelypteridaceae |
