Blechnum medium, Rasp Fern is still widely referred to as Doodia media despite the DNA sequencing work by Lara Shepherd, Leon Perrie, Barbara Parris and Patrick Brownsey in 2007 and the subsequent description by Maarten Christenhusz, Xian-Chun Zhang and Harald Schneider in 2011. The nursery trade is often slow to catch up with taxonomic change and this does little service either to botany or to you, the plant-buying public. Whatever you choose to call this gorgeous little fern it is a genuine beauty.
The emergent new-growth is pinkish-red, a consequence of the flavonoids they contain to protect them from the sun's ultra-violet rays. This colouration is quite spectacular despite the diminutive size.
Blechnum medium should be grown in shade in a moist, humus-rich soil. Not fully hardy in all but the mildest UK locations it can also be grown in containers and moved to a frost-free glasshouse where it should still be given winter protection.
Highly recommended.
Additional Information
| Order | Athyriales |
|---|---|
| Family | Blechnaceae |
| Synonyms | Doodia media, Woodwardia media |
| Geographical Origin | New Zealand, Australia, Lord Howe Isand |
| Cultivation | Damp shade, partial shade or sun. Fertile, slightly acidic soil with moist leaf mold and humus. Keep moist. Mulch heavily in autumn and protect with fleece |
| Eventual Height | 15cm |
| Eventual Spread | 60cm spreading |
| Hardiness | Not fully hardy in most areas of the UK. Will fare best in warm southerly and south-west coastal locations and the London heat island. Mulch heavily, protect with fleece or grow in containers and bring under glass where it should still be fleeced |
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