Pyrrosia petiolosa Taste of China

Pyrrosia petiolosa 'Taste of China' is a 2021 Plant Delights/JLBG introduction of a new strain of the prized Chinese medicinal fern, Pyrrosia petiolosa. We originally imported this from China as Pyrrosia lingua, which was obviously incorrect, but when we keyed it out using Hovenkamp's 280 page Pyrrosia monograph, it took us to Pyrrosia petiolosa, albeit with larger foliage than we've seen on the Siberian forms. Our taxonomist, Zac Hill, said it was the distinctly sunken hydathodes that confirmed its identity. Pyrrosia petiolosa is the hardiest species in the genus, with Siberian forms being reliable in Zone 5. Pyrrosia 'Taste of China' is a spore strain, so there is some difference in the mature height of each clone, but between 3" and 6" tall seems to be the range. The slowly spreading rhizomes of this lithophyte (rock dweller) form a tightly clustered mass of upright foliage with each 3" long x 2" wide, thick, felty evergreen leaf held atop a 2" to 3" stipe. We are very excited about how well it's grown in our compost-rich garden soil.