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Inland leatherfern

Acrostichum danaeifolium

Also called Giant Leather Fern, Giant Fern

Inland leatherfern
Photo: James St. John, CC BY 2.0

Inland leatherfern is a massive fern native to the wet Neotropics, with fronds up to 3 m long. It needs consistently moist to wet soil and a warm, humid, sheltered spot to thrive.

Family
Pteridaceae (Maidenhair fern family)
Grows as
Fern
Light
Part shade, Bright indirect
Water
Keep the soil consistently wet, and stand the pot in a saucer of water or grow it at a pond or bog margin.
Soil
Rich, organic, moisture-retentive mix, such as peat-based compost with added loam.
Temperature
20–32 °C; protect below 10 °C
How easy
Moderate
Native range
Trop. & Subtrop. America
Climate
wet tropical

About

Acrostichum danaeifolium, called helecho mangle, interior leather fern or giant leather fern, is a massive fern in the family Pteridaceae which is found throughout the Neotropics. The fronds are up to 3 m (9.8 ft) long with pinnate leaflets up to 30 cm (12 in) long. Spores are distributed uniformly on the back side of the fronds. It prefers wet soils.

Other Acrostichum plants

Golden leatherfern · Mangrove Fern · Leatherfern · Leather Fern · Leatherfern

Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Acrostichum danaeifolium by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.

The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.

Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.

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