Native to eastern Asia, Dryopteris erythrosora earns its common name through a theatrical seasonal performance: new fronds emerge in shades of copper and rose-pink, the undersides studded with bright red sori that give the species its name — erythrosora, meaning red spore clusters. By midsummer those fronds have matured to a lustrous dark green, but the display restarts with each new flush of growth.

A reliable workhorse for shaded corners, it forms an arching vase-shaped clump two feet tall and up to three feet wide, slowly widening through creeping rhizomes over the years. It asks for acidic, humus-rich soil that stays consistently moist, though an established plant can shrug off brief dry spells. Protect it from drying winds and it will largely look after itself, resisting deer browse and performing equally well in a container on a shaded patio or massed as a woodland ground cover.