Dryopteris panda

Panda Buckler Fern Dryopteridaceae

A handsome, rather substantial Himalayan buckler fern with a distinctly old-fashioned, masculine Dryopteris character: upright, scaly rhizomes carrying a neat crown of once-pinnate fronds, generally 60–80 cm tall. The fronds are lanceolate, 40–50 cm long and 20–25 cm wide, with 12–18 pairs of well-spaced, obliquely held pinnae. The individual segments are mostly rounded to truncate at the tips, giving the frond a pleasingly open, architectural appearance. Beneath, the large brown, kidney-shaped indusia shelter the sori close to the midrib — hence its affinity with the Dryopteris filix-mas group. 

A plant of cool mountain forests, occurring from the western Himalaya through Nepal and Tibet into central and south-central China, including Yunnan, Sichuan, Guizhou and Gansu. It is found principally between 1300 and 3100 m, often in mixed woodland and on open mountain slopes. In cultivation it makes an excellent specimen for a cool, humus-rich woodland, particularly where the soil remains reasonably moist without becoming stagnant. 

Its nomenclatural history is suitably complicated. Charles Baron Clarke first described it in 1880 as Nephrodium filix-mas var. panda; it subsequently appeared as Lastrea filix-mas var. panda, Dryopteris filix-mas subsp. panda and under several other combinations. It is now accepted by Kew as Dryopteris panda (C.B.Clarke) C.Chr. Some later names, notably D. bonatiana and D. yui, have also been placed in synonymy. 

A splendid fern for the collector who prefers their Dryopteris mountain-grown, slightly obscure and with a nomenclatural past.

• Hardiness: H5 — -15 to -10°C
• Height: 60–80 cm
• Spread: 50–70 cm
• Fronds: 40–50 cm
• Range: Western Himalaya to Central China
• Altitude: 1300–3100 m
• Habitat: Mixed mountain forests and open slopes