Hen And Chicken Fern, Parsley Fern, Mother Spleenwort
Asplenium bulbiferum
Family: Polypodiaceae
What it is like
Form: Rounded, Upright or erect
Asplenium bulbiferum is an evergreen Fern growing to 0.3 m (1ft) by 0.3 m (1ft in) at a slow rate. See above for USDA hardiness. It is hardy to UK zone 10 and is frost tender. It is in leaf all year. Suitable for: light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and prefers well-drained soil. Suitable pH: mildly acid, neutral and basic (mildly alkaline) soils. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It prefers moist soil.
Height (m): 0.3
Where it is found
Riversides in lowland and lower montane forest in New Zealand.
Australia, New Zealand.
Conservation Status:
Countries/locations it is found in
How it is used
Food
Rating: 1
Root - cooked. Young fronds - cooked. Used before they uncurl, they taste somewhat like a slightly bitter asparagus.
Root: includes bulbs, corms, tubers, rhizomes etc.
Medicine
Rating: 0
Other
Rating:
How it is grown
Landscape Uses:Container, Ground cover, Massing, Specimen, Woodland garden. Requires a moist humus-rich soil in semi-shade. Plants are probably not hardy outdoors in Britain but may be worth trying in very sheltered positions. The young growth in spring, even on mature plants, is frost-tender and so it is best to grow the plants in a position sheltered from the early morning sun. Members of this genus are rarely if ever troubled by browsing deer. Special Features: Attractive foliage, Not North American native, Naturalizing, There are no flowers or blooms.
Propagating it: Spores - best sown as soon as they are ripe on the surface of a humus-rich sterilized soil. Keep the compost moist, preferably by putting a plastic bag over the pot. Germinates in spring. Spring sown spores germinate in 1 - 3 months at 15°c. Pot on small clumps of plantlets as soon as they are large enough to handle and grow them on in light shade in a cold frame or greenhouse. Keep them humid until they are well established. When they are at least 15cm tall, plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer. This plant can also be propagated by means of small bulblets that form on the sides of leaves in the growing season. Pot these bulblets up when they detach easily from the parent plant and grow on in the greenhouse for at least the first winter.
Best place to grow: Woodland Garden Dappled Shade; Shady Edge;
Habit: Fern
Hardiness: 10-11
Growth: Slow
Soil: Light (sandy), medium, heavy (clay)
Shade: Semi-shade, no shade
Moisture: Moist
Things to keep in mind
Although we have found no reports of toxicity for this species, a number of ferns contain carcinogens so some caution is advisable. Many ferns also contain thiaminase, an enzyme that robs the body of its vitamin B complex. In small quantities this enzyme will do no harm to people eating an adequate diet that is rich in vitamin B, though large quantities can cause severe health problems. The enzyme is destroyed by heat or thorough drying, so cooking the plant will remove the thiaminase.