Athyrium niponicum, the Japanese painted fern,Athyrium niponicum. Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS). is a species of fern native to eastern Asia.Anisocampium niponicum. Flora of China. eFloras.
This species was redefined as a member of genus Anisocampium in 2011 based on phylogenetic analyses,Liu, Y.-C., et al. (2011). Molecular phylogeny and taxonomy of the fern genus Anisocampium (Athyriaceae). Taxon 60(3) 824-30. but the genus has since been sunk into Athyrium.
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".
The Latin specific epithet niponicum means "relating to Japan (Nippon)".
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.Athyrium niponicum var. pictum. Missouri Botanical Garden. 'Pictum' is also considered to be a cultivar; varieties and cultivars are bred to achieve midribs in many shades of red.Perry, L. Japanese Painted Fern. University of Vermont Extension, Department of Plant and Soil Science.
A. niponicum var. pictum has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit. as has the cultivar 'Silver Falls'.
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