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Dryopteris erythrosora
(D.C.Eaton) Kuntze
Japanese Shield Fern
Dryopteridaceae
Dryopteris erythrosora is a species of fern in the family Dryopteridaceae. It is native to southeastern China, Korea, and Japan, and is also widely cultivated elsewhere.
Description
Dryopteris erythrosora has ascending rhizomes that are 3 to 4 cm in diameter. Leaves are bipinnate, oblong-lanceolate. The blade is 40 to 60 cm long and 15 to 25 cm wide, on a 20 to 30 cm long, scaly stipe. The stipe is light brown, densely covered with brown lanceolate scales at the base. The base of the leaf is narrowed, and the tip is pointed. Fronds have 10 to 15 pairs of lanceolate leaflets. Leaflets are 15 to 20 cm long and 4 to 6 cm wide, 6 to 8 cm apart, opposite or nearly so. Leaflets are divided into 10 to 15 pairs of lanceolate subleaflets that are about 2 to 3 cm long and 8 to 12 mm wide, which themselves are finely toothed or pinnately lobed. The midrib is covered with dark brown, lanceolate scales. Sori are borne on one row or scattered, near the midribs near the tip of the fronds; indusia are roughly round and reddish in the middle (Wu et al. 2013).
Uses
Note: Please see the disclaimer regarding any information about medical or edible uses.
Dryopteris erythrosora is commonly grown as an ornamental, for its attractive fronds that are orange-pink when unfurling. It prefers moist, humusy soils in part to full shade, and grows in USDA zones 5 to 8 (MBG).
Distribution
Dryopteris erythrosora is found in subtropical, broad-leaved evergreen forests. It has been found in the Chinese provinces of Anhui, Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Sichuan, Yunnan, Zhejiang, as well as Japan and the Korean Peninsula (Wu et al. 2013). It is locally escaped in Arkansas, Alabama, and North Carolina (Kartesz 2015).
Status
References
Kartesz, J. T., The Biota of North America Program (BONAP). 2015. North American Plant Atlas. (http://bonap.net/napa). Chapel Hill, N.C. [maps generated from Kartesz, J.T. 2015. Floristic Synthesis of North America, Version 1.0. Biota of North America Program (BONAP). (in press)].
MBG (Missouri Botanical Garden), Dryopteris erythrosora. Plant Finder. [accessed 2019 Jun 12]. http://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?kempercode=h750
Wu, Z. Y., Raven, P. H., and Hong, D. Y., eds. 2013. Flora of China. Vol. 2-3 (Lycopodiaceae through Polypodiaceae). Beijing: Science Press, and St. Louis: Missouri Botanical Garden Press.
MBG (Missouri Botanical Garden), Dryopteris erythrosora. Plant Finder. [accessed 2019 Jun 12]. http://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?kempercode=h750
Wu, Z. Y., Raven, P. H., and Hong, D. Y., eds. 2013. Flora of China. Vol. 2-3 (Lycopodiaceae through Polypodiaceae). Beijing: Science Press, and St. Louis: Missouri Botanical Garden Press.
Description
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