Polystichum makinoi - Makino's Holly Fern

Polystichum makinoi is a very beautiful Asian fern, evergreen in winter, which forms a well-regulated clump. Its glossy fronds are remarkably carved, and their olive-green colour contrasts well with the brown rachis and petioles. Of medium size, this species is particularly elegant and very hardy, and its cultivation poses no difficulty in humus-rich, well-drained and moist soil. A true adornment for shade or partial shade, this polystichum also offers a very beautiful foliage to enhance bouquets.

Polystichum makinoi belongs to the Dryopteridaceae family. It is a botanical species native to East Asia, found in Bhutan, China, India, Japan, Nepal, Tibet, North and South Korea, and Myanmar. The plant has a short, ascending and scaly rhizome, from which numerous leaves called fronds emerge. It eventually forms a beautiful clump with a slightly spreading and harmonious habit, reaching about 45 to 55 cm (18 to 22 in) in height and 40-50 cm (16-20 in) in width. The fronds, of an elongated triangular shape, measure 25 to 60 cm (10 to 24 in) in length and 10 to 20 cm (4 to 8 in) in width. They have a fairly rigid texture. Their lamina is bipinnate, divided into shiny and dentate pinnae, each with a small petiole. The colour of the young foliage is a very bright green, while the mature fronds turn olive-green. Each frond is borne on a petiole measuring 10 to 40 cm (4 to 16 in) in length, which extends into the main vein, the rachis, running through the entire lamina. The petioles and rachis are covered with brown scales of varying darkness.

Polystichum makinoi is an excellent border plant, for light and fresh undergrowth or shaded flower beds. It adapts very well to any moist soil enriched with leaf compost, even on a slightly calcareous subsoil. It can be associated with other ferns, Solomon's seals, Asarum, or with Asian undergrowth plants that deserve to be discovered, such as the isodons.