Matteuccia orientalis
At a glance
- Exposure
- Partial shade
- Frost limit
- −34.4 °C
Cultivation
Requires a moist but well-drained position and light shade. Plants are hardy to about -20°c. Plants have an invasive root system and can send up suckers some distance from the main clump. Members of this genus are rarely if ever troubled by browsing deer. Fertile fronds are produced after the first flush of vegetative fronds and persist throughout the following winter. The spores are shed in mid-winter.
Propagation
Spores - surface sow as soon as they are ripe in mid-winter and keep the soil moist. It is best to keep the pot in a sealed plastic bag to hold in the moisture. Pot up small clumps of the young plants as soon as they are large enough to handle and grow on in light shade until large enough to plant out. Division during the dormant season between October and March. Larger clumps can be replanted direct into their permanent positions, though it is best to pot up smaller clumps and grow them on in a cold frame until they are rooting well. Plant them out in the spring.
Edible uses
Young shoots - cooked. A famine food, used when all else fails.
Habitat
Not known
Native range
E. Asia - China, Japan, Himalayas.
Scientific synonyms Onoclea orientalis, Pentarhizidium orientale