Dryopteris Wallichiana President's Message Contents
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Editor Sue Olsen VOLUME 6 NUMBER 1 WINTER 1996 V&'&b- ~~ 4 SS »* M2 'tV »» Sg ,5v « «r: -V i k S£2P- ?&2g4 ~ 3 35 5 XT #3 Dryopteris President’s Message Wallichiana Sylvia Duryee James R. Horrocks Salt Lake City, Utah We hope you all have had a wonderful holiday season and have had a rest too: just like our ferns! Now we need to look at our progress as the Hardy Fern Named for Wallich who first described it, Foundation. Good beginnings are seen in our satellite and display gardens. this fem is now recognized for the most These help to fulfill part of our purpose in existing. We began with education as part as a widespread and rather variable our basic premise. These gardens certainly create an opportunity for the public species which includes D. to meet many new ferns in an appropriate habitat. Remember too our newsletter. parallelogramma, D. patentissima, and This represents a first class collection of information regarding ferns - how to D. paleacea, the latter being the original grow, sources, problems and solutions. This material reaches our members only species name. It is native to India, the by our editor’s efforts. The newsletter is also possible only if you respond to our Himalayas, southern China, and through¬ editor Sue Olsen’s and your HFF board’s request for material, questions, out much of southeast Asia, being rare in information, problems - know that your inquiries are gratefully received and Japan. It is also native to South and considered for publication. As you look back through the issues you realize how Central America, parts of Africa (Rhode¬ much information has been made available. sia) and Madagascar. Being twice pin¬ nate, it is very similar to a score of other You will be interested to know that there will be a new display garden in Quebec, species in its genus. Kaye notes that it is Canada. Also in time we will be developing a fem garden at the Bellevue Botanical similar to D. affinis of the British Isles. Garden. This newest project is still embryonic but has much interest. Formal However, upon close inspection, it can meetings are underway with Tom Kuykendall, director. The HFF committee be noted that the pinnules of D. wallichiana includes Dr. Meredith Smith, John Putnam, Janet Dalby, Harry Olsen and John are rectangular in shape, that is, with van den Meerendonk. more or less square edges. It is quite The Hardy Fem Foundation will be sponsoring a booth at the Northwest Flower similar to D. lepidopoda but is distin¬ Show again this year in partnership with the Rhododendron Species Botanical guished from it by its narrower frond base Garden. This should create a delightful scene. Please pay us a visit and volunteer and shorter stipe with scales that are both a little time if you can. Janet Dalby (206) 454-3447 is co-ordinating the volunteer wide and narrow. In D. lepidopoda, the schedule. The dates are Feb. 6th through the 11th. (Remember the volunteers stipe is longer and all of the scales are get free entry to the show.) narrow. Unfortunately, some specimens are intermediate and are therefore diffi¬ Enjoy your respite during the inclement weather, but remember that this is a good cult to identify. D. wallichiana is a deni¬ time to start a new batch of spore. Look at your spore exchange list and send zen of mid and upper-level forest zones, Wayne Baxter an order. growing on the ground, usually under ther up, especially on the rachis. The trees. scales may vary in color from very dark or Description: The rootstock seldom if black to mid-brown or even paler, but Contents. ever branches but forms a crown from with a dark base. The effect is rather 1 & 5 Dryopteris Wallichiana which the fronds arise in a strong flush of striking between the dark scales and the bright green. The crown may even form new light green pinnae. As the frond 2-3 On the Pteridophyte Trail inBritian a low trunk. The croziers are hairy-black matures it gradually becomes a bit darker or reddish and are, as Rush puts it, green, but the contrast is still noticeable. 4-5 1995 Spore Exchange Addendum "charmingly sinister". The stipe is up to The fronds are bipinnate and more or a quarter the length of the frond and less narrowly lanceolate, being up to 14 6-7 The Great Fernists inches wide and 4 to 4Vs> feet high in the rather thick with numerous lanceolate 8-11 Key to theSpecies and narrowly lanceolate scales which are largest specimens. The pinnae bear 12 Calendar & AIBS Meeting quite dense, becoming very narrow fur- continued on page 5 Winter 1996 HARDY FERN FOUNDATION NEWSLETTER m On the Pteridophyte avoided tourist attraction and followed along to St. TVail in Britain Ives which appeared on the Sue Olsen - Bellevue, WA map to be a small coastal village. Well it was coastal all right and maybe even A POST POST-CONFERENCE TOUR somewhat small, but seem¬ Having enjoyed an escorted fern trip to ingly everyone in Southern Devon and Cornwall my husband Harry England had come to the and I were delighted to use our timeshare beach. (It was a nice day!) trades to extend our exploration of the We drove along astonished English and Scottish countryside - the and almost failed to notice gardens, castles and festooned mortared that on the wall across the walls beckoned and we were ready. We street from the teeming Town of Fern. Photo by Harry Olsen. left the BPS tour in Cornwall and chose to crowds were some very healthy clusters for its beauty even if every last fem is extend our stay in that fern rich area. of the asplenium and they were there in removed. (Let’s hope not.) Trengwainton Gardens was the first stop profusion. We indeed had our photo op. on our itinerary and we were greeted by We had a most enjoyable week in the robust polystichums surrounded by re¬ Heading up to central England we de¬ Cotswold’s where we visited friends and ally lush woodwardias. The fern trail toured on the scenic route through toured their wonderful gardens. Martin passed under a canopy of rhododen¬ Dartmoor National Park and stopped at Rickard has moved since our last visit drons in full flower with peach colored Castle Drogo. Nothing in our literature and is now on a 29 acre estate with a blossoms ready to frame the indicated that we’d find ferns, but to me it huge manor to match. He and his wife photographer’s view of the resident tree was absolutely the best public garden of Hazel have spent months clearing the ferns (Dicksonia antarctica once again). the summer tour. It was now early Au¬ property (which has five lakes and unlim¬ The background plantings were the ever gust and the extensive beautifully de¬ ited potential) and moving plant material present hydrangias which were to be the signed perennial gardens were alive with from their old garden. As the grounds dominant “color” feature and favored plant color. AND they were surrounded by a were totally overgrown this has been a to be seen during our travels. We really wall that was packed solid with lush back breaking job. However, they have enjoyed the garden. However not every aspleniums, dryopteris, ceterach and reached the point where there is satisfac¬ garden is worthy of a detour, which we phyllitis. (Chalk off another roll of film.) tion in admiring the progress. Martin were to leam after we threaded our way They were beautifully framed by the flow¬ holds the national collection of through some very narrow lanes (that ers. Let’s hope that no one ever, ever polypodiums which had recently been were to pass as “roads") in order to tour decides to “clean up the wall”. In other planted and were already looking well Glendurgan.lt was one of the rare disap¬ parts of the garden phyllitis was used established and handsome in their new pointments in all the visits we made to extensively and to good effect as a growth. He also has Christopher Fraser- National Trust properties. The main rea¬ ground cover. I would guess that there Jenkins’ national collection of dryopteris son to visit the garden is to enjoy a well were no strawberry root weevils around on the property and they were doing quite maintained maze which was generating as these were in perfect condition. well as was the first major landscaping a good measure of enthusiasm and youth¬ site. A number of hoophouses are in We made two other short stops en route ful squeals when we were there. place giving them much more space for - one at Westonbirt Arboretum so Harry their well stocked nursery (which we did Our brief glimpse of Asplenium marinum could take a break from ferns and tour our best to support) and really they are at Kynance Cove (see part 1) was a their Japanese maple collection. This well on their way. We look forward to teaser and we were anxious to see if we was not to be as the drought and resulting seeing their progress as the years pass could find it in other sites - preferably in fire danger had forced the closure of that and the garden and nursery expand. more profusion. To this end we drove portion of the arboretum. (We returned around the southern tip of Cornwall later in the week, by appointment and the It was pouring down rain when we visited through quaint towns with matching director not only allowed us to visit, but Rita and Ray Coughlin’s garden in 1991.