''Onychium japonicum'' is a species of

fern A fern (Polypodiopsida or Polypodiophyta ) is a member of a group of vascular plants (plants with xylem and phloem) that reproduce via spores and have neither seeds nor flowers. The polypodiophytes include all living pteridophytes except t ...

in the family

Pteridaceae Pteridaceae is a family of ferns in the order Polypodiales, including some 1150 known species in ca 45 genera (depending on taxonomic opinions), divided over five subfamilies. The family includes four groups of genera that are sometimes recogni ...

Taxonomy

The species was first described in 1784 by

Carl Peter Thunberg Carl Peter Thunberg, also known as Karl Peter von Thunberg, Carl Pehr Thunberg, or Carl Per Thunberg (11 November 1743 – 8 August 1828), was a Swedish naturalist and an "apostle" of Carl Linnaeus. After studying under Linnaeus at Uppsala Un ...

as ''Trichomanes japonicum''. In 1825, Blume used the name "''Onychium''" for a genus of orchids, but this was illegitimate since it had been used in 1820 for the fern genus. Blume also used the combination "''Onychium japonicum''" for an orchid (now ''

Dendrobium moniliforme ''Dendrobium moniliforme'', known as Shihu in Chinese and Sekkoku in Japanese, is a species of orchid. It is native to Japan, Korea, China, the Himalayas, and northern Indochina. ''Dendrobium moniliforme'' is the type species for the genus ''Den ...

''). In 1848, Kunze transferred ''Trichomanes japonicum'' to the fern genus ''Onychium'' as ''Onychium japonicum''. The name ''Onychium japonicum'' (Thunb.) Kunze is conserved against ''Onychium japonicum'' Blume.

References

Pteridaceae Plants described in 1784 {{Pteridaceae-stub