Spores: reproductive spores are gold-red-brown and appear on the underside of leaf fronds year round

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In order to seek truth, it is necessary once in the course of our life, to doubt, as far as possible, of all things. René Descartes (1644), Principles of Philosophy

The Coast Salish people of B.C. and Washington state use this plant as a pain reliever. When applied directly to the area where pain and inflammation occur, according to Della Rice Sylvester, an elder and medicine woman of the Cowichan tribe, the sword fern “takes the pain away!”. This traditional use has spread among the hiking communities and youth scouting organizations of the region, where it is a common piece of hiker’s lore that a rash from a stinging nettle can be counteracted by rubbing the spores on the underside of sword fern on the area.