Botanic Garden >> Gardening > >> Houseplants >> Plants for Details >> Ferns

Prickly Rasp Fern (Doodia aspera)

Prickly Rasp Fern
Serrated pinnae
New growth
Clump

Overview

Prickly Rasp Fern (Doodia aspera) is an Australian fern with harshly serrated, prickly pinnae margins. New fronds emerge in striking shades of pink and red.

Taxonomy

Family:	Blechnaceae
Genus:	Doodia (DOO-dee-uh)
Species:	aspera (AS-per-uh)

Description

Fronds are 30–60 cm long, pinnate, with glossy, dark green pinnae that have sharp, prickly teeth. Young fronds are vivid pink to red. Rhizome is short-creeping.

Habitat and Cultivation

Grows in moist forests and along streams. In cultivation, prefers moist, well-drained soil in shade to part sun. Tolerates light frost. The colorful new growth is a highlight.

Ferns: Hosta plantaginea: The Fragrant Species with Giant White Flowers; Prickly Aloe (Aloe aculeata): A Heavily Armed Aloe; Baby Rita Prickly Pear (Opuntia 'Baby Rita'): A Dwarf, Purple-Padded Cactus; Lemmaphyllum microphyllum; Huperzia gnidioides (Fir Clubmoss); Blechnum lehmannii; Pleopeltis angusta; Polypodium guttatum; Japanese Brake Fern (Pteris nipponica): Elegant Variegated Fern for Shade; Northern Prickly Ash (Zanthoxylum americanum): Aromatic, Thorny Shrub for Wildlife and Numbing Spice

Garden Articles

Comfortroot (Hibiscus aculeatus)

Hibiscus hamabo: Coastal Species

Mandrinette – Hibiscus boryanus

Furcraea macdougalii: A Giant, Trunk-Forming Relative of Agave

Euphorbia bupleurifolia: A Bizarre, Pineapple-Topped Succulent with a Caudex

Candelilla (Euphorbia antisyphilitica): A Leafless, Wax-Producing Shrub for Extreme Heat

Desert Rose (Adenium arabicum)

Plants

Dorstenia gigas (Socotra Fig Tree)

Bontaalwyn (Aloe grandidentata): A Toothed Aloe Beauty

Jatropha mahafalensis: A Rare, Caudiciform Succulent Shrub

Yucca desmetiana: A Soft-Leaved, Blue-Green Yucca

Allthorn (Koeberlinia spinosa): A Leafless, Thorny Desert Shrub

Crassula pruinosa

Fockea edulis