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The Japanese lady fern (Athyrium niponicum) belongs to the family Woodsiaceae. It is a summer-green fern that is distributed throughout Japan, as well as in Taiwan, the Korean Peninsula, and northern China. It grows in mountainous areas under trees and along roadsides, reaching a height of 30 to 80 cm. The leaves are ovate to ovate-oblong, deeply lobed in a bipinnate to tripinnate pattern, and taper sharply at the tips. The pinnae curve slightly upward. The sori are located midway along the small pinnae, toward the midrib, and are elliptical to horseshoe-shaped. In Taiwanese Chinese, it is called "日本蹄蓋蕨", and in Chinese, "日本安蕨" (ri ben an jue).
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