Dicranopteris linearis ("Koshida")

Japanese name: コシダ （小羊歯）
Scientific name: Dicranopteris linearis

[Overview]
An evergreen terrestrial fern that grows in sunny places in the mountains, reaching 1 m in height, sometimes 2 m.
It is often seen on nutrient-poor bare ground such as logged areas and dry slopes, where it frequently forms large colonies.
It has no scales anywhere.
The rhizome is wiry, hard and long-creeping, and covered with reddish brown hairs.
The leaf stalk is erect, 0.2–1 m long, slender and hard, and forks in two several times, with pinnae borne on each branch.
The pinnae are oblong-lanceolate with a tail-like tip, regularly and deeply pinnately lobed; the lobes are linear, about 0.3–0.4 cm wide, entire-margined, with a blunt or shallowly notched tip.
The upper surface of the leaf is glossy, and the underside is tinged with white.
The final pinnae are about 15–40 cm long and 3–8 cm wide.
The leaf axis has reddish brown hairs, and the underside of the leaf also bears sparse reddish brown hairs.
The sori are arranged in a single row midway between the lobe margin and the midrib, and have no indusium.

[Uses]
It has long been used in flower arrangement, and the mature leaf stalks are used for crafts such as baskets and mats.

[Cultivation]
It dislikes being transplanted and often dies if its roots are damaged, so take care not to break up the root ball when repotting.
It prefers a sunny site with well-drained soil.
For potted plants, water thoroughly when the soil surface dries from spring to autumn, and keep it on the dry side during the winter dormant period.
For plants in the ground, rainfall is sufficient.
Fertilizer is not particularly necessary.

[Notes]
The Japanese name comes from its resemblance to Urajiro, which is commonly called shida (fern), but being smaller.

View this page in Japanese (日本語)