What are the fan fern and the tuberous sword fern? Get to know these two ferns
Scientific name: Nephrolepis auriculata
Common name: tuberous sword fern
Family and genus: Polypodiaceae, genus Neocheiropteris
Plant category: medium-sized terrestrial fern
Morphological features:
Plant height 60 cm. Rhizome thick and creeping horizontally, densely covered with scales, dark brown. Fronds distant, nearly papery, sparsely covered with small brown scales beneath. Stipe 30-45 cm long. Blade 25-30 cm long, fan-shaped. Veins reticulate, areoles dense with included branched veinlets. Sori borne on the lower part of the lobes, round or oblong, close to the midrib.
Origin and distribution:
Produced in Sichuan, Yunnan and Guizhou. Mostly grows under dense forest at an altitude of 1500-2700 m.
Growth habits:
Prefers shady and humid environments, avoids direct sunlight. Adapts to ordinary or cool climates, with a certain tolerance to cold and drought. A loam rich in humus is suitable as the growing medium.
Propagation methods:
Propagated by rhizome or spores. The sporangium of the fan fern has a vertical annulus and a highly developed stomium, usually with 32 spores; spores are bilateral, elliptical in polar view. Polypodiaceae is the most evolutionarily advanced and most recent representative group among leptosporangiate ferns.
Cultivation and management:
For pot cultivation, a shallow pot is suitable, and garden soil and leaf mold can be mixed at 1:2. For daily watering, simply keep the potting soil moist; in summer, when it is hot and dry, spray clean water in appropriate amounts to increase air humidity. Fertilize once every 2 months. Potted plants should be placed in a spot with plenty of diffused sunlight. In winter, with a night temperature of 8-10 degrees C, the leaves can remain green and survive the winter.
Polypodiaceae has about 46 genera and 500 species, the vast majority of which are typical epiphytes of tropical and subtropical regions. China has about 22 genera and more than 150 species. Among them, the typical representative is the genus Polypodium. The fan fern is a rare specialty of China, and because of its extremely small quantity it has been listed as a national third-class protected plant.
Uses and characteristics:
The fan fern has a peculiar leaf shape and is highly ornamental. It can be planted beside ditches and under forest in scenic areas to add wild charm, and can also be potted and placed in the living room or study, full of interest.