Argyrochosma

More Information About Argyrochosma

Angiopteris is a genus of 10 or so poorly defined fern species that are from the South Pacific islands and west into Madagascar, including India, Japan, and northern Australia. Known for being very large and for being evergreen, Angiopteris species are often called King ferns or Giant ferns and are some of the largest ferns on the planet today. In the tropics, fronds in excess of 27 feet in length have been recorded. Of course, here in the temperate part of the world, you will not see these truly giant sizes. The fronds of Angiopteris have a coarse texture, not too different than Coniogramme, just a lot bigger.

The giant Angiopteris ferns produce correspondingly large rounded caudex-like rhizomes (up to 3' wide) that are cooked in Assam India as a starchy food and fermented into an alcoholic drink called ruchshi. Pacific islanders roast and eat Angiopteris rhizomes as a vegetable and they also use an aromatic oil from the plant to perfume coconut oil and rice. In Papua New Guinea, the locals collect Angiopteris leaves, chop them up and sleep on them as they find the fragrance that the fronds emit to be relaxing.

When you are ready to buy Angiopteris for your garden, check out our online list of Angiopteris for sale below.