Specimen
Habitat
MP-0006 / 0024 โ Nephrolepidaceae
Nephrolepis cordifolia (L.) C.Presl
Tamashida (JP)
A tufted fern that stores water in small ball-shaped tubers and spreads over thin soil and rock.
Distribution
Pantropical and subtropical; in Japan from the southern Kanto region to the Ryukyus.
Habitat
Forest margins, rocky slopes, tree trunks and disturbed ground, in both shade and open light.
Morphology
A tufted fern with an erect rhizome that sends out wiry stolons. The stolons bear small, round, water-storing tubers. Fronds are once-pinnate, 30โ100 cm long, with numerous closely set pinnae; the round sori sit near the pinna margin under a kidney-shaped indusium.
Botanical notes
The ball-shaped tubers (tama = ball) store water and allow rapid vegetative spread, making the species a durable pioneer on thin soils and rock. Widely cultivated as an ornamental.
References
Taxonomy and distribution follow Plants of the World Online (Kew), YList (Yonekura & Kajita) and regional floras; CITES Species+ for trade status. Descriptions are provisional and are revised as specimens are verified.