Looking handsome in the winter woodland is Polystichum dracomontanum. While most garden polystichums are either American or Asian in origin, this gem hails from South Africa. The specific epithet “dracomontanum” translates to Dragon Mountain, and in this case indicates that the plant is from the Drakensburg Mountains in South Africa. Although I spent a bit of time in this mountain range in 2005, I never encountered the fern in the wild, where it grows in open grasslands, nestled along the edges of giant boulders. Hardiness in really unknown, but based on where it grows, we’d guess Zone 7a-8b, and possibly colder.
Polystichum dracomontanum