Dryopteris cycadina

Dryopteris cycadina, the shaggy wood fern, is well described by its species name which means ?like a cycad?. The evergreen once pinnate fronds growing like a symmetrical bouquet of cycad leaves are a rich green with a prominent grooved blackish midrib. Decorative new growth is shrouded in ornamental ?shaggy? dark scales. For an interesting garden picture sprinkle in a few plants of the black mondo grass (Ophiopogon planiscapus ?Nigrescens?) to mimic the color and habit of this medium growing (18 inches) delight. Hailing from China, Taiwan and Japan this species settles with ease in average soils in Zones 5 to 8.