Scientific name: Woodwardia prolifera Hook. & Arn.

Family: Blechnaceae

Common name: Proliferous Chain Fern

In January, we focus on a large fern with leaves measuring around one and a half meters long in mature specimens, which can even reach three meters. A mass of them can be seen filling a square in the historic part of La Concepción, between the Triton pond and the old tennis court.

The leaves of ferns are called fronds, and each frond is divided into pinnae, which in this case are particularly narrow. They are a beautiful, bright green color, and sometimes the young ones have an orange tint. The apex is sharp and elliptical in shape. From the end of summer, we can see small leaves on the upper side of the fronds; these are buds or seedlings, from which new ferns will develop when they take root. The structures where the spores are produced are called sori, and they are located on the underside, so deep that their relief can be seen on the upper side. The rhizome or underground stem is covered with brown scales, which are also present on the lower part of the stem and on the seedlings, although these are much smaller.

This fern is naturally distributed throughout southeastern China, Japan, and the Philippines. The genus name was given in honor of the English botanist Thomas Jenkinson Woodward, who lived between the 18th and 19th centuries; the species name refers to its ease of propagation. It is not very demanding, although it needs a shaded or semi-shaded location and protection from intense cold.