Athyrium niponicum

{{Speciesbox

| image = Japanese Painted Fern Athyrium nipponicum 'Pictum' Leaf 1500px.jpg

| image_caption = Athyrium niponicum 'Pictum'

| genus = Athyrium

| species = niponicum

| authority = (Mett.) Hance

}}

Athyrium niponicum, the Japanese painted fern,[https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=897585#null Athyrium niponicum.] Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS). is a species of fern native to eastern Asia.[http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=2&taxon_id=250098523 Anisocampium niponicum.] Flora of China. eFloras.

This species was redefined as a member of genus Anisocampium in 2011 based on phylogenetic analyses,Liu, Y.-C., et al. (2011). [http://140.130.96.119/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/Taxon-60-824-830-Anisocampium.pdf Molecular phylogeny and taxonomy of the fern genus Anisocampium (Athyriaceae).] Taxon 60(3) 824-30. but the genus has since been sunk into Athyrium.{{cite journal |author=PPG I |title=A community-derived classification for extant lycophytes and ferns |year=2016 |journal=Journal of Systematics and Evolution |volume=54 |issue=6 |pages=563–603 |doi=10.1111/jse.12229|doi-access=free }}

This deciduous fern has a creeping rhizome and a tuft-shape array of fronds. The fronds are variable in length, generally 30 to 75 centimeters long but occasionally over a meter in length. They have alternately arranged, subdivided pinnae. The spore-bearing sori on the undersides of the fertile pinnae are variable in shape, being "oblong, hooked, J-shaped, or horseshoe-shaped".

The Latin specific epithet niponicum means "relating to Japan (Nippon)".{{cite book | last=Harrison |first=Lorraine | title=RHS Latin for Gardeners | year=2012 |publisher=Mitchell Beazley | location=United Kingdom | isbn=184533731X }}

This is a commonly cultivated fern, especially A. niponicum var. pictum. It thrives in many kinds of shady garden conditions and produces thick colonies of gray-green fronds with reddish midribs.[http://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?kempercode=b640 Athyrium niponicum var. pictum.] Missouri Botanical Garden. 'Pictum' is also considered to be a cultivar; varieties and cultivars are bred to achieve midribs in many shades of red.Perry, L. [http://pss.uvm.edu/ppp/articles/jpfern.html Japanese Painted Fern.] University of Vermont Extension, Department of Plant and Soil Science.

A. niponicum var. pictum has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.{{cite web | url= https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/92151/i-Athyrium-niponicum-i-var-i-pictum-i/Details

|title = RHS Plantfinder - Athyrium niponicum var. pictum

| publisher = Royal Horticultural Society | accessdate=12 January 2018}}

as has the cultivar 'Silver Falls'.{{cite web | url= https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/168821/i-Athyrium-niponicum-i-var-i-pictum-i-Silver-Falls/Details

| title = RHS Plantfinder - Athyrium niponicum var. pictum 'Silver Falls'

| publisher = Royal Horticultural Society

| accessdate = 19 January 2018}}