Order Athyriales Higher classification Athyrium | Division Pteridophyta Scientific name Athyrium niponicum Rank Species | |
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Similar Athyrium, Athyrium filix‑femina, Dryopteris erythrosora, Dryopteris, Polystichum | ||
Athyrium niponicum japanese painted fern
Athyrium niponicum, commonly known as Oriental ladyfern, is a species of fern in the genus Athyrium, native to eastern Asia in Japan, northern China, Korea and Taiwan.
Contents
It is a deciduous herbaceous plant, with whorls of fronds growing from spreading rhizomes. The fronds are 25-40 cm tall and 15-25 cm broad, pinnate, with 6-10 pairs of pinnae 4-9 cm long and 2-3 cm broad, deeply lobed, bright green with a dark red-brown stem in the wild plant, with the spore-bearing sori on the underside of the fertile pinnae.
The species name is sometimes cited as "nipponicum".
Cultivation and uses
It is grown as an ornamental plant in gardens; several cultivars have been selected, including 'Pictum' (Japanese Painted Fern) with pale silvery-green fronds and a bright red stem, 'Red Beauty' with yellow fronds and a bright red stem, and 'Pictum Cristatum' with crested fronds. 'Metallicum' is noted for its variegated silver, green and red foliage.