Microlepia strigosa 'MacFaddeniae'

Microlepia strigosa 'MacFaddeniae' MacFadden's Lace Fern, is a cultivar of Microlepia strigosa, a type species that is found from the Himalayas across SE Asia to Hawaii. Fay MacFadden (1888-1964) was an American plant collector and bryologist who lived and collected in Oregon and British Columbia, writing extensively about her collecting trips before settling in the San Fernando Valley in California. It was in California that she acquired this form - apparently from a local nursery - and it was eventually published by the American botanist, Conrad Vernon Morton (1905-1972) in 1957 in the American Fern Society Journal.

Microlepia strigosa 'MacFaddeniae' is an unusual cultivar that bears little resemblance to the type species. It has long narrow gracefully arching fronds with lacy alternately-arranged pinnae that bear a superficial resemblance to the Tatting Fern, Athyrium filix-femina ‘Frizelliae’.

For a fern that is found across much of tropical Asia it is surprisingly hardy and will often keep its foliage throughout the winter, becoming deciduous in colder areas. I prefer to grow it in a large container where I have the option of bringing it indoors if the weather becomes too cold. I also fleece it in very cold weather because it seems a shame to lose all that beautiful foliage.