Lygodiummicrophyllum,
OldWorldclimbingfern
Invasive
Similarities
Appearance:BothLygodiummicrophyllumand
L.japonicumareperennialclimbingfernsthatwill
remaingreenthroughouttheyearinwarmer
climates,unlessfreezingtemperaturesoccur.The
frondscanclimb90ft.ormoreintotreetops.Vines
arethin,wiry,andcanbecomeverydense.They
consistoftheclimbingfrondstemswhicharisefrom
thehorizontalstems(stolonsandrhizomes)onand
beneaththeground.
Lygodiumjaponicum,
Japaneseclimbingfern
Fronds:ThepinnaeonbothL.microphyllumandL.
japonicumareattachedoppositeonthevineandare
roughlytriangularinshape.Themarginsoffertile
pinnaecontracttofingerͲlikeprojectionsthatbear
sporangiawhichproducetinywindsporesthatare
easilydispersedbythewind.
Differences
Fronds:ThemaindifferencebetweenL.
microphyllumandL.japonicumisthenumberof
divisionsoftheirpinnae.ThesterilepinnaeofL.
microphyllumispinnatewhileL.japonicumis
bipinnate.
Also,thepinnaeofL.japonicum[3Ͳ6in.(8Ͳ15cm)
long]canbeslightlylargerthanpinnaeofL.
microphyllum[2to5in.(5Ͳ12.7cm)long].
Lygodiumpalmatum,
Americanclimbingfern
Native
Appearance:Lygodiumpalmatumisaperennial
climbingfernwithlongandcreepingstems,that
cangrowuptoabout9feetlong.
Fronds:Sterilepinnaeareverybroadlyovate,
deeplyandpalmately3Ͳ7Ͳlobed.Fertilepinnaeare
3Ͳ5Ͳforkedorlobed,ultimatedivisions
palmatelyandsometimesirregularlylobed.
Fertilepinnaearesmallerthansterilepinnulesbut
areotherwisesimilar.Themarginscontract,and
rolledleaftissuecoversporangiathat
producewinddispersedspores.Lygodium
palmatumisgenerallylocalandrare.This
speciesisnottolerantofshading.
Images:PeggyGreb,USDAAgriculturalResearchService,Bugwood.org;KaranA.Rawlins,UniversityofGeorgia,Bugood.org;TroyEvans,GreatSmoky
MountainsNationalPark,Bugwood.org.Reference:www.efloras.org.LygodiumFlyer:KaranA.Rawlins,KennethLangeland,andJeffreyHutchinson,2012.
Lygodiumjaponicum,
Japaneseclimbingfern
Invasive
Lygodiummicrophyllum,
OldWorldclimbingfern
Native
Lygodiumpalmatum
Americanclimbingfern
USDAPLANTSDatabase,USDANRCSPLANTSDatabase,Bugwood.org