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A fairly tall species from Korea and Taiwan. In the greenhouse it has made a good clump without running rhizomes. I got it as P. polydactyla but
Plants of the World Online corrects it to P. polydactylos. I have found it fairly slow growing but it has responded well to feeding. It
it gets too dry the edges of the fronds curl inwards but the plant recovers when watered. Plant Delights Norsery say: "We love this superb species of evergreen tongue fern from Taiwan, via a US National Arboretum expedition (USNA 45507-D). Unlike Pyrrosia lingua, Pyrrosia polydactyla doesn't run, but instead makes a stunning 1' tall x 1' wide textural clump of felty, five-fingered, dark green leaves. Pyrrosia polydactyla is a fern that deserves a very special specimen location in the woodland garden, although it really needs to be sited on a moderate to steep slope to perform its best. In a container, Pyrrosia polydactyla makes a superb and very easy-to-grow houseplant." Garry Landrie from Louisiana says: "Five Finger Pyrrosia, P. polydactyla is fairly easy to cultivate. I have maintained this variety for over 20 years and have never experienced any problems with its care. It can be a slow grower, but mature plants do produce very large fronds. The rhizome creeps slowly so that old plants can be divided in to many plants and have a dense cluster of leaves which persist for many years. At maturity, individual leaves can be 18 inches long and 10 inches across at the divided end. This variety is cold hard but perhaps a bit more cold sensitive than P. hastata. I tend to bring my plants indoors when they predict very cold hard freezes and temps below 25F. I have left it out on very cold nights and some leaves will show discoloration after prolonged exposure to freezing temps. If you want to grow it outdoors in the ground then I would cover it or mulch it to protect it from a hard freezes. It is very fertile and produces fertile fronds with spores once mature. Writing in 'The Garden' about Dick Haywards collection, Roy Lancaster says: "Pyrrosia polydactylos meanwhile is another choice Taiwanese fern that often grows as an epiphyte on other plants. It has leathery, green hand-shaped fronds with five- to nine- fingered lobes, covered beheath with silvery hairy scales. This promises to be an unusual basket plant for warmer areas , or under glass. |
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| 8th June 2014 | ||
