Common Name: leather fern
Type: Fern
Family: Dryopteridaceae
Native Range: Temperate southern hemisphere
Zone: 8 to 11
Height: 1.00 to 3.00 feet
Spread: 4.00 to 5.00 feet
Bloom Time: Non-flowering
Bloom Description: Non-flowering
Sun: Part shade to full shade
Water: Medium
Maintenance: Low
Suggested Use: Annual, Ground Cover
Leaf: Evergreen
Tolerate: Deer, Heavy Shade
Culture
Best grown in evenly moist, humusy, rich, well-draining soils in full to part shade. Hardy in Zones 8-11.
Noteworthy Characteristics
Rumohra adiantiformis, commonly called leather fern or leatherleaf fern, is an evergreen fern with a wide native range spanning from southern Africa and Australia to central South America and the Caribbean. The glossy, deep green, bipinnately compound fronds are leathery and triangle-shaped and can reach up to 2.5' long and 8" wide. This fern spreads slowly by creeping rhizomes, and mature clumps will reach 3' tall and fill a 5' area. This fern is widely cultivated for use in the cut flower industry. The fronds have an excellent vase-life of around two weeks and are commonly used as a filler in bouquets and corsages.
Genus name honors Dr. Carolus de Rumohr Holstein.
The specific epithet adiantiformis means "having a shape like Adiantum", the genus that includes maidenhair ferns.
The common names for this plant reference the texture of the foliage.
Problems
No known pest or disease problems.
Uses
Woodland gardens, shade gardens, foundation plantings, tree ring plantings. Suitable for use as a ground cover. Popular foliage filler for floral arrangements.