Protected local food
Tanegashima Leatherleaf Fern
種子島レザーリーフファン
Glossy, dark green fern fronds from Tanegashima, an island in southern Kagoshima. It is Japan's top home-grown source of this florists' greenery.
Key facts
- Registered as a protected name
- 27 March 2024
- Region
- Kyushu & Okinawa
- Official name in Japanese
- 種子島レザーリーフファン
- Official area (in Japanese)
- 鹿児島県西之表市、熊毛郡中種子町及び南種子町
The green in the bouquet
Leatherleaf fern is the glossy greenery florists tuck behind flowers. Tanegashima's fronds are dark green, shiny and symmetrical, with few marks or yellowing, and they last a long time. The island ships more than anywhere else in Japan, and its fern is used for formal ceremonies.
Warm, volcanic island
Tanegashima in Kagoshima is warm, and the whole island has acidic soil from volcanic ash, which this fern likes. The local farm co-op manages shading, water and cold-chain shipping, and growers even use leftover sugarcane fibre to keep plants warm in winter so they can ship all year.
Good to know
- Tanegashima is home to JAXA's Tanegashima Space Center, often called the world's most beautiful rocket launch site.
- The island is also where firearms first arrived in Japan, in 1543. The Tanegashima Gun Museum tells the story.
Questions travellers ask
Is this a food?
No. It is one of the non-food products in Japan's GI register.
How do I get to Tanegashima?
By plane or high-speed ferry from Kagoshima.
Where it comes from
More protected foods from the same area
Crafts from the same area
Heritage stories from the same area
Sources
We checked the facts on this page against these sources.