About Lygodium japonicum (Thunb.) Sw.
This species of fern, Lygodium japonicum, grows a creeping stem that produces very long leaves, with the longest reaching over 30 metres (98 feet). The leaves have vine-like rachises that can climb over other vegetation. Structures that look like individual leaves growing from the twining rachis are actually smaller leaflet segments of the main leaf. There are two types of leaflets: sterile and fertile. Sterile fronds have lance-shaped segments, while fertile fronds have more intricately divided, fringed segments. Sporangia grow along the edges of fertile fronds. Lygodium japonicum reproduces via spores, and also spreads vegetatively through underground rhizomes.
