Bringing Taiwan's native ferns to the global horticultural market! Coastal rock fern successfully mass-produced, golden dog-hair fern still in the works

Taiwan has a rich variety of native fern species, but in the past they could not enter the horticultural market because the limits of propagation could not be overcome. The Taitung District Agricultural Research and Extension Station (hereafter "Taitung Station") has used "green sphere" technology to break through the limits of traditional division propagation, and has successfully developed a Taiwan native fern, the coastal rock fern (Pteris fauriei), into an ornamental potted flower. Commercial propagation of the rare golden dog-hair fern (Cibotium barometz) is also underway, with the hope of smoothly pushing it into global channels so the world can see the beauty of Taiwan's ferns.

Li Wennan, an assistant researcher at Taitung Station, said the coastal rock fern has good weather tolerance and a wide range of light adaptability, making it very easy to care for whether placed indoors or outdoors. Its upright plant form makes it suitable as a mid-to-background plant when combined in mixed planters, and it has great potential for commercial mass production as a potted flower.