INVESTIGATION AND EVALUATION OF ORNAMENTAL FERN IN BEIJING AREA

Ferns, with their amazing shape of foliage and wide ecological adaptability, are of high value with regards to urban landscaping and re-vegetation of degraded land. About 77 species or varieties of ferns reportedly inhabit the Beijing area and most of them still exist in the wild (He, 1993). Since 2003, an extensive investigation of wild fern resources in the Beijing area has been conducted by our team and 23 species with great ornamental value have so far been collected and their biology, ecological adaptability and ornamental characteristics recorded and evaluated. The inference drawn is that Athyrium pachyphlebium, A. fallaciosum, A. multidebtatum, Matteuccia struthiopteris, Pteridium aquilinum and Dryopteris laeta are suitable for garden planting whereas Adiantum capillus-junosis, Aleuritopteris argentea, Gymnocarpium disjunctum and Polystichum craspedosorum could be used for potted plants because of their special frond characteristics. Also, several species were found to be evergreen when grown in glasshouses. Furthermore, the cut foliage of Polystichum craspedosorum was found to be useful for floristry. The most important revelation is that many species in these genera such as Selaginella, Aleuritopteris and Asplenium can be used in rock garden or degraded industrial lands because of their high adaptability to drought and low soil fertility.