Matteuccia struthiopteris
(Shuttlecock Fern)
Family - Onocleaceae
Category - Fern
Origin - Europe, Asia, North America
Season of Interest - Spring, Summer, Autumn
Hardiness - H5
Height - up to 1.2m
Width - 1m
Location - The Stream Area, The Woodland Walk
Description: Deciduous rhizomatous fern with elegant, upright, but arching fronds. Bright green sterile fronds emerge to form shuttlecock-like clusters in spring. Shorter, fertile fronds are produced in midsummer in the centre of the shuttlecock. The fertile fronds are dark green, but appear nearly brown due to the many spore cases covering the pinnae.
Award of Garden Merit (AGM).
Additional common name - Ostrich Fern
Synonym - Matteuccia pennsylvanica
The genus Matteuccia is named after Italian physicist C Matteucci (1800-1868).
Foliage:
The first fronds to emerge in spring are sterile and form shuttlecock-like rosettes. The fronds are bipinnate, bright pale green, and can reach up to 1.2m in height. From midsummer, fertile, dark green fronds emerge in the centre of the shuttlecock cluster, and are covered in numerous spore cases which make the pinnae (leaflets) appear nearly brown. The fertile fronds are approximately 60cm in length and persist into the autumn after the sterile fronds have withered.
Foliage Senescence: Deciduous
Foliage Shape: Bipinnate
Propagation:
Division, spores.
Cultivation:
Best in partial shade to shade in moisture retentive soil.