Weeds of Australia - Fact Sheet

Top Scientific Name Synonyms Family Common Names Origin Naturalised Distribution Notes

Scientific Name

Lygodium japonicum (Thunb.) Sw.

Synonyms

Ophioglossum japonicum Thunb.

Family

Lygodiaceae (Western Australia and the Northern Territory)
Schizaeaceae (Queensland and New South Wales)

Common Names

climbing fern, Japanese climbing fern

Origin

Native to southern and eastern China, Japan, Korea, the Indian sub-continent (i.e. Bhutan, India, Nepal and Sri Lanka) and south-eastern Asia (i.e. Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea and the Philippines).

Naturalised Distribution

Naturalised in some parts of northern and eastern Australia (i.e. in south-eastern Queensland, in the coastal districts of central New South Wales, and near Darwin in the northern parts of the Northern Territory).

Also naturalised overseas in southern and eastern USA (i.e. North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas and Arkansas) and in Hawaii.

Notes

Japanese climbing fern (Lygodium japonicum) is regarded as an environmental weed in New South Wales and south-eastern Queensland and is a potential environmental weed in northern Australia. This fast growing species has escaped cultivation as a garden ornamental and become naturalised in wetter forests and riparian areas. It twines around the stems and branches of trees and shrubs and can reach up into the canopy of forests.