Athyrium niponicum

Athyrium niponicum, the Japanese painted fern,^[1] is a species of fern native to eastern Asia.^[2]

Athyrium niponicum
Athyrium niponicum 'Pictum'
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Division:	Polypodiophyta
Class:	Polypodiopsida
Order:	Polypodiales
Suborder:	Aspleniineae
Family:	Athyriaceae
Genus:	Athyrium
Species:	A. niponicum
Binomial name
Athyrium niponicum (Mett.) Hance

This species was redefined as a member of genus Anisocampium in 2011 based on phylogenetic analyses,^[3] but the genus has since been sunk into Athyrium.^[4]

This deciduous fern has a creeping rhizome and a tuft-shape array of fronds. The fronds are variable in length, generally 30 to 75 centimeters long but occasionally over a meter in length. They have alternately arranged, subdivided pinnae. The spore-bearing sori on the undersides of the fertile pinnae are variable in shape, being "oblong, hooked, J-shaped, or horseshoe-shaped".^[2]

The Latin specific epithet niponicum means "relating to Japan (Nippon)".^[5]

This is a commonly cultivated fern, especially A. niponicum var. pictum. It thrives in many kinds of shady garden conditions and produces thick colonies of gray-green fronds with reddish midribs.^[6] 'Pictum' is also considered to be a cultivar; varieties and cultivars are bred to achieve midribs in many shades of red.^[7]

A. niponicum var. pictum has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.^[8] as has the cultivar 'Silver Falls'.^[9]