Licorice fern, Polypodium glycyrrhiza, is a beautiful and unusual plant. This fern is epiphytic, so needs a moist atmosphere, where it can extract nutrients from the air. At home in temperate west coast rain forests from Alaska to Northern California, it grows on logs, rock faces, wet mossy ground and the moss-covered branches of big-leaf maples. You can grow it in your garden in a cool, shady site with well drained, humus-rich soil. In the Buck Lake Native Plant Garden, licorice fern grows in several clumps on the south side of the main path, near the south entrance to the garden. In drier sites, it can be summer dormant, showing up only as the weather cools and fall rain arrives. In our garden, it is slow to put on new growth in the spring, not really looking good until early summer.

Polypodium glycyrrhiza, either raw or cooked, was an important medicinal plant for a number of Native American groups. The rhizomes were chewed for their licorice flavor and used as a remedy against coughs, colds, and sore throats. It was also used to sweeten other foods.