Neolepisorus fortunei

(aka: Microsorum fortunei) Fortune’s ribbon fern, Neolepisorus fortunei, hails from southern China south to Malaysia. The 18″ tall x 1″ wide, upright, glossy evergreen leaves emerge from a slowly creeping rhizome. Eventually, Neolepisorus fortunei makes a splendid 2-3′ wide colony in the woodland garden. Although it will survive brief periods to 0 degrees F, Fortune’s ribbon fern is best in gardens from zone 8 south, where it prefers rich humus-enriched, loose soils. In tropical, high humidity climates, it grows as an epiphyte on tree trunks. In commerce, Neolepisorus fortunei is almost always sold as Lepisorus bicolor, which is a similar, but different fern…the lovely orange spores, which run the length of the leaf back are an easy distinguishing feature.