Polypodium vulgare Bifido Multifidum - Rockcap Fern

Polypodium vulgare 'Bifido Multifidum' is an original form of the Common Polypody. This small evergreen fern stands out with its more robust fronds, composed of spatulate pinnules at their tips, showing curious bifurcations that give it a very special charm. It grows without care almost anywhere and gradually colonises a semi-shaded area through its wandering rhizome, from which spring toothed fronds of a spring green-colour. Non-invasive and very easy to grow in partial shade in any non-limestone soil, from moist to dry, it is perfect for adding an original touch to a rural decor or creating a small Japanese scene.

Polypodium vulgare is part of a large group of plants called polypod ferns, which are terrestrial, epiphytic, or even lithophytic species, widespread in the temperate northern hemisphere, belonging to the Polypodiaceae family. Polypodium vulgare is common up to an altitude of 2200 m (7200 ft). It can be found in Scandinavia, the Carpathians, and North America. Its natural habitat consists of rocky undergrowth, old walls, cracks between rocks, and the base of certain tree trunks on which it sometimes becomes epiphytic, but rarely on limestone soil.

The common polypody 'Bifido Multifidum' is a very hardy perennial fern that develops from a creeping, fleshy, curiously sweet rhizome, which is quite thick, covered with reddish scales, and capable of spreading on very different supports such as stone, tree bark, or soil. Its growth is quite slow: an adult plant will form a carpet of fronds about 25 cm (10 in) high, covering an area of 0.5 square metres (5.4 square feet). The bright green foliage is composed of divided fronds, wider than those of the type species, highly divided into 20 to 25 confluence segments at the base and distributed on either side of a slender rachis. Each pinnule has a widened spatulate end subdivided into 2 to 4 lobes. The plant produces sori (small sacs containing spores) throughout the year. They take the form of small warts about 2 mm (0.1 in) in diameter, orange in colour, located on the undersides of the leaves.

Among the ferns of the temperate zones of the world, the common polypody is certainly the easiest fern to grow. Without causing any other concerns than planting it, it has its place in the garden, to border a rural hedge in the company of Meconopsis cambrica, or on a shaded slope where nothing grows, in the company of a pretty, variegated ivy (Hedera helix variegata). It can also be associated with helxine, eucomis, hostas, hydrangeas, and shrubby fuchsias, always in filtered light or shade. One can also create a tiny garden in a very refined Japanese spirit, by combining this 'Bifido Multifidum' variety with round stones, moss, or even with a painted fern from Japan (Athyrium niponicum 'Pictum'). If it manages to establish itself in a fertile hollow, filled with humus, between the branches of a forest tree, it will create a tableau with an exotic appearance, reminiscent of the luxuriance of tropical forests.