Osmunda regalis 'Decomposita'

A royal fern whose lineage through fern royalty was unspoilt until it graced our worn proletariat hands. The original plant of this form with tripinnate leaves, meaning one extra degree of division resulting in a feathery look, was found in Kerry, Ireland but subsequently lost to cultivation. 90 years later British pterido-maniac Martin Rickard chanced upon another in a ditch in that same county. From there it passed to local fern celebrity Sue Olsen and through her Hardy Fern Foundation to the Elisabeth Miller garden where its current caretaker Richie Steffen graciously bestowed upon me one single frond from which come all of these spore-grown plants. Don't worry if the fronds are not yet fully feathered, its a trait that develops and strengthens with age.