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Lygodium japonicum (Thunb. ex Murr.) Sw. (ITIS)
Japanese climbing fern
Ophioglossum japonicum (Fuchs 1960)
Asia and Australia (Leichty et al. 2011)
Early 1900s (Leichty et al. 2011)
Introduced as an ornamental (Leichty et al. 2011)
Smothers native vegetation by blocking sunlight and increases fire risk by allowing fire to spread up trees along its vines (Minogue et al. 2009)
Southeastern U.S., Hawaii
Japanese climbing fern
Photo by Chris Evans; University of Illinois
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The section below contains highly relevant resources for this species, organized by source.
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Fuchs, H.P. 1960. The nomenclature of a Japanese Ophioglossum. American Fern Journal 50(1):124-127.
Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Lygodium japonicum. [Accessed Sep 16, 2023].
Leichty, E.R., B.J. Carmichael, and W.J. Platt. 2011. Invasion of a southeastern pine savanna by Japanese climbing fern. Castanea 76(3):293-299.
Minogue, P.J., S. Jones, K.K. Bohn, and R.L. Williams. 2009. Biology and Control of Japanese Climbing Fern (Lygodium japonicum) [PDF, 2.55 MB]. University of Florida, IFAS Extension. FOR 218.