1, appearance characteristics: the leaves of sweet fern are larger than those of bitter fern, and the fronds are thicker and softer in texture. While the bitter fern's leaves are relatively small, the fronds are thinner and the texture is harder. In addition, the sweet fern's pole thin body green, its "head" rolled into a ball, the shape of the beautiful; while the bitter fern's pole is more stout, sometimes on one side will appear a little flat, and covered with a layer of fine brown hair, the appearance of the relatively more awkward.

2, flavor differences: sweet fern taste delicious, with a sweet flavor, very suitable for cooking a variety of dishes. The bitter fern flavor is more bitter, usually need to be treated to remove the bitter taste. This bitterness is caused by the bittersweet naturally secreted by bitter ferns during growth to protect against insect infestation.

3, growth habit: sweet fern head generally curled upward, color and lustre is more bright; and bitter fern color is dull, head curled downward. After the growth into the luxuriant stage, all the ferns will show a kind of appearance known as "wolf chicken", their vitality is very strong, they will open branches and spread leaves and deep into the soil, absorbing and nibbling on the nutrition of nearby plants.