Specimen
Habitat
MP-0010 / 0024 â Blechnaceae
Blechnum orientale L.
Hiryu-shida (JP)
A pioneer fern of bright, bare slopes, with sterile and fertile fronds of different shapes.
Distribution
Southern China, Taiwan and the Ryukyus, through tropical Asia to Polynesia and Australia.
Habitat
Open slopes, forest margins and road cuttings, on exposed, base-poor soils.
Morphology
A terrestrial fern with a short, erect rhizome and tufted, once-pinnate fronds. Fertile fronds are dimorphic, with narrower pinnae; sori are linear and run along both sides of the midrib of each pinna.
Botanical notes
Tolerant of full light and poor soils, it is a common coloniser of cut slopes. The dimorphism between sterile and fertile fronds is typical of the family.
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.