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Licorice Fern (Polypodium glycyrrhiza)

Licorice Fern
Frond detail
Rhizome
Habitat

Overview

Licorice Fern (Polypodium glycyrrhiza) is a Pacific Northwest native fern with sweet, licorice-flavored rhizomes. It is summer-deciduous, emerging with fall rains.

Taxonomy

Family:	Polypodiaceae
Genus:	Polypodium (pol-ee-PODE-ee-um)
Species:	glycyrrhiza (gly-ky-RY-zuh)

Description

Fronds are 20–50 cm long, pinnate, with oblong pinnae. The rhizome is long-creeping, covered with sweet-tasting scales. Sori are round, naked, in two rows.

Habitat and Cultivation

Grows on mossy rocks, tree trunks, and logs in humid forests. In gardens, provide winter moisture, summer drought, and shade. The rhizome can be chewed for its licorice flavor.

Ferns: Walking Fern (Asplenium rhizophyllum): Unique Fern That "Walks" Across Rocks; Log Fern (Dryopteris celsa): Tall, Hybrid Wood Fern for Moist Shade; Woodwardia unigemmata: Chain Fern; Pyrrosia hastata: Felt Fern; Adder's-tongue Fern (Ophioglossum vulgatum); Basket Fern (Drynaria rigidula); Staghorn Fern (Platycerium wallichii); Fragile Fern (Cystopteris protrusa); Japanese Brake Fern (Pteris nipponica): Elegant Variegated Fern for Shade; Licorice (Glycyrrhiza glabra): The Sweet Root of Herbal Medicine and Confectionery

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