Takawarabi - Takawarabi

Japanese: タカワラビ - たかわらび

Also known as sheep fern. An evergreen perennial fern of the family Brachypodium. A species of tree fern found in the tropics and subtropics of East Asia, it is found in Japan from the Amami Islands southwards and is sometimes cultivated for decorative purposes. The rhizome is long and creeping, with yellow hairs growing densely along with the base of the petiole. The leaves are extremely large, and in well-developed leaves, the petiole alone can reach a length of 2m. The leaf blade is tripinnately compound, and the underside of the leaf is powdery white. The sporangia are attached to the base of the lobe, bent onto the underside of the leaf, and are enclosed in a bivalve-like envelope.

Source: Heibonsha World Encyclopedia, 2nd Edition Information

Japanese:

ヒツジシダともいう。タカワラビ科の常緑多年生シダ植物。東アジアの熱帯から亜熱帯に分布する木生シダの1種で，日本では奄美諸島以南に分布するほか，観賞用に栽培されることもある。根茎は長く匍匐（ほふく）し，葉柄の基部とともに黄色の毛を密生する。葉はきわめて大型で，よく発育した葉では，葉柄だけで長さ2mに達する。葉身は3回羽状複生，葉の裏は粉白。胞子囊群は裂片の基部について，葉の下面に屈曲し，二枚貝状の包膜につつまれる。

出典　株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典第２版について　情報

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