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Dryopteris championii

(Benth.) C.Chr.

Champion's Wood Fern

Dryopteridaceae

Dryopteris championii is a species of fern in the family Dryopteridaceae. It is native to East Asia.

Description

Dryopteris championii is a fern, and spreads by rhizomes. These rhizomes are covered in brown, lanceolate scales with smooth margins. Fronds are dark green, bipinnate and ovate-lanceolate in outline, 40 to 60 cm long and 20 to 30 cm wide on a pale stipe that is 30 to 40 cm long, 4 to 5 mm in diameter, and densely covered in broadly lanceolate, toothed scales. Leaves have 10 to 15 pairs of alternate leaflets that are ovate-lanceolate in outline, slightly narrowed at the base; each leaflet is divided into 10 to 13 subleaflets. These subleaflets are 2 to 3 cm long, lanceolate in outline, pinnately lobed and finely toothed, and shortly stalked. Leaves have a pinnate venation and are visible on the underside. Sori are found in a row on either sides of the central veins of the subleaflets; indusia are brown, kidney-shaped (Wu et al. 2013).

Uses

​Note: Please see the disclaimer regarding any information about medical or edible uses.

Dryopteris championii is used as an ornamental. It prefers moist, humusy, acidic soils in part to full shade, protected from strong winds, and grows in USDA zones 5 to 8 (MBG).

Distribution

Dryopteris championii is found in temperate or subtropical forests, and is native to Japan, Korea, and southeastern China and Taiwan from Shandong to Yunnan (Wu et al. 2013).

Status

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References

MBG (Missouri Botanical Garden), Dryopteris championii. Plant Finder. [accessed 2020 Oct 23]. https://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?taxonid=285929

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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