Japanese Climbing Fern Lygodium japonicum
- Phonetic Spelling
- li-GO-dee-um juh-PON-ih-kum
- This plant is an invasive species in North Carolina
- Description
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Japanese climbing fern is a terrestrial, subterranean, creeping fern in the Schizaeaceae (climbing fern) family. It can grow to 90 feet covering shrubs and trees. The root system is rhizomatous forming dense mats up to 10 feet deep. The spores format long the margins of the lacy fronds and are dispersed by the wind. It is evergreen in tropical areas and deciduous in areas with frost. This plant is utilized in exterior landscapes in the lower south and is marginally hardy in protected areas in the Raleigh area.
See this Federal site to learn more about its invasive abilities https://www.invasivespeciesinfo.gov/terrestrial/plants/japanese-climbing-fern
Quick ID Hints:
- Vine with fern leaves
- Fronds have elongated pinnules and twining rachis
- Sori borne on finger-like lobes of pinnules
Insects, Diseases and Other Plant Problems: It can grow quickly to cover trees and shade them out. It also creates mats over the ground preventing seed germination. Japanese Climbing Fern is on the NC Native Plant Society's rank 2 list for invasiveness. It is considered invasive in several southern states and a noxious weed in Florida.
VIDEO Created by NC State Extension's Homegrown series featuring Mark Weathington, Director of JC Raulston Arboretum.
- Profile Video:
- See this plant in the following landscape:
- Cultivars / Varieties:
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- Tags:
- Cultivars / Varieties:
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- Tags:
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Attributes:
- Genus:
- Lygodium
- Species:
- japonicum
- Family:
- Schizaeaceae
- Uses (Ethnobotany):
- The plant is harvested from the wild for local medicinal use and for its stems, which are used in basketry.
- Life Cycle:
- Perennial
- Country Or Region Of Origin:
- Japan, Tropical Asia, Austrailia
- Distribution:
- AL, AR, FL, GA, HI, LA, MS, NC, PA, PR, SC, TX
- Particularly Resistant To (Insects/Diseases/Other Problems):
- Heavy shade, Deer
- Climbing Method:
- Twining
- Dimensions:
- Height: 15 ft. 0 in. - 90 ft. 0 in.
- Width: 15 ft. 0 in. - 30 ft. 0 in.
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Whole Plant Traits:
- Plant Type:
- Fern
- Weed
- Woody Plant Leaf Characteristics:
- Broadleaf Evergreen
- Deciduous
- Semi-evergreen
- Habit/Form:
- Ascending
- Climbing
- Creeping
- Growth Rate:
- Rapid
- Maintenance:
- High
- Texture:
- Medium
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Cultural Conditions:
- Light:
- Dappled Sunlight (Shade through upper canopy all day)
- Deep shade (Less than 2 hours to no direct sunlight)
- Partial Shade (Direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)
- Soil Texture:
- Loam (Silt)
- Soil Drainage:
- Good Drainage
- Available Space To Plant:
- 12-24 feet
- 24-60 feet
- more than 60 feet
- NC Region:
- Coastal
- Piedmont
- USDA Plant Hardiness Zone:
- 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b, 9a, 9b, 10a, 10b, 11a, 11b, 12a, 12b, 13a, 13b
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Fruit:
- Fruit Description:
- No fruits. This plants reproduces via wind dispersed spores.
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Flowers:
- Flower Description:
- No flowers.
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Leaves:
- Woody Plant Leaf Characteristics:
- Broadleaf Evergreen
- Deciduous
- Semi-evergreen
- Leaf Color:
- Green
- Leaf Feel:
- Slippery
- Soft
- Leaf Type:
- Compound (Pinnately , Bipinnately, Palmately)
- Fronds
- Leaf Arrangement:
- Opposite
- Leaf Shape:
- Oblong
- Leaf Margin:
- Lobed
- Hairs Present:
- Yes
- Leaf Description:
- Leaves are usually triangular in shape, 3-6 in. long, 2-3 in. wide and finely dissected with hairs on the under surface. They are pinnately compound to decompound and dimorphic. Pinnae are borne on rachis in distant pairs on short stalks. The sterile pinnae is entire to serrate, with an elongated terminal pinnul. Lateral pinnules are 2-3 per side and are unequal. The smaller pinnaes are fertile, with pinnules developing finger-like lobes. Stipes and rachis are wiry and twinging.
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Stem:
- Stem Color:
- Black
- Green
- Orange
- Stem Is Aromatic:
- No
- Stem Description:
- Vines are thin, wiry, green to orange to black, very strong and twining
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Landscape:
- Resistance To Challenges:
- Deer
- Heavy Shade
- Problems:
- Invasive Species
- Weedy
