|
The "Shibi-itachi-shida" (Dryopteris shibipedis) belongs to the family Dryopteridaceae. It is an evergreen fern that was discovered in 1962 at the foot of Mount Shibi in northern Kagoshima Prefecture, Kyushu, Japan. Currently, the native strain is thought to be extinct in the area, with only cultivated species surviving at the Tsukuba Experimental Botanical Garden and elsewhere. It is thought to have been derived from a hybrid between "Gifu-benishida" (Dryopteris kinkiensis), a sexually reproductive species, and "Oo-itachi-shida" (Dryopteris pacifica), an apomixis (non-fusion reproductive) species, widely distributed in Japan. This species is also an apomixis (non-fusion reproductive) species. Morphologically, it is intermediate between the two species.
|