Athyrium niponicum (Mett.) Hance (syn.: Anisocampium niponicum (Mett.) Y.C. Liu, W.L. Chiou & M. Kato) (SE Asia) – An exceptional escape from cultivation. Discovered in deciduous woodland close to a residential area in As in 2017.
The single plant found belongs to the popular cultivar ‘Pictum’. It produces spores and could establish a stable population.
Athyrium niponicum is, although commonly grown, rarely (if ever?) reported as an escape. In northeastern France, close to the Belgian frontiers, Bizot (2012) reported about a plantation near woodland and emphasized the potential naturalization and even hybridization with native A. filix-femina.
Selected references
Bizot A. (2012) Fougère asiatique In Memoriam des soldats tombés lors de l’invasion allemande de 1940. Bull. Soc. Hist. nat. Ard. 101: 96-97.