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A creeping evergreen fern from Australia. In a pot here it looks pretty awful in winter, but seems to recover fairly rapidly in spring.
I bought it from In Excess Garden Centre in Ringwood. The label says: "Leather Fern. An Australian creeping evergreen fern with dark green leathery leaves. It can be grown over rocks or tree trunks in conditions that are well drained in winter. Height 30-45cms. Hardy to -5 deg. C." The Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finder says: "Rumohra adiantiformis, commonly called leather fern or leatherleaf fern, is an evergreen fern with a wide native range spanning from southern Africa and Australia to central South America and the Caribbean. The glossy, deep green, bipinnately compound fronds are leathery and triangle-shaped and can reach up to 2.5' long and 8" wide. This fern spreads slowly by creeping rhizomes, and mature clumps will reach 3' tall and fill a 5' area. This fern is widely cultivated for use in the cut flower industry. The fronds have an excellent vase-life of around two weeks and are commonly used as a filler in bouquets and corsages. Genus name honors Dr. Carolus de Rumohr Holstein." The New Zealand Plant Conservation Network says: "Rumohra adiantiformis is a polymorphic species. Some overseas races of it are popular in cultivation, where the long-lasting fronds are used for floral work. The most widespread cultivated race of this fern comes from South Africa, and this has been found sparingly established in Whanganui. The New Zealand plant has little resemblance this plant and as it is more fickly to cultivate it is unlikely to be used in the same way. Although the New Zealand race of Rumohra is easily grown, it is slow to establish. Best results are obtained from plants attached to tree trunks of grown in hanging baskets. Rumohra prefers a humus enriched, damp free draining soil or potting medium. It does not like full sun and should not be allowed to dry out." |
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| 30th April 2006 | ||
