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Asplenium antiquum
Also called Japanese Bird's Nest Fern
Japanese Bird's Nest Fern is an evergreen fern from East Asia that grows on rocks, cliffs and tree trunks. It is widely grown as a houseplant and needs steady, high humidity and bright, indirect light.
Asplenium antiquum is a species of fern in the family Aspleniaceae. It is sometimes referred to as Japanese Bird's Nest Fern or simply Bird's Nest Fern. In Japanese, it is known by ō-tani-watari and tani-watari. It grows on cliffs, logs and rocks, near waterfalls, in damp forests, and on tree trunks in southeastern China, Japan, Korea, and Taiwan. It is classified as an endangered species in both South Korea and Japan.
Despite its endangered status in Japan and South Korea, Asplenium antiquum is a fairly common ornamental plant within the nursery trade, widely sold throughout Asia, Australia, Europe, and North and South America. This species may be grown outdoors all year-round in certain temperate and subtropical climates (for example, in sheltered, ventilated areas within USDA hardiness zones 9 and 10); elsewhere, it may live outside from approximately May through October (in the northern hemisphere; about October to March in the southern). However, it must be protected or brought-inside as a house plant when frost is a risk, or when nighttime temperatures drop below 40 °F (4.4 °C). It requires fairly consistent, high humidity—albeit without being so saturated as to induce rot. The ideal substrate should be aerated and well-draining, such as sphagnum moss, while still feeling like a damp, wrung-out sponge. Keep out of direct sunlight while still providing bright, indirect light. A.
A. antiquum is native to temperate and subtropical East Asia, being found in southeastern China, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan, where it grows on rock faces, cliffside outcroppings, and tree branches and trunks. It is classed as an IUCN endangered species in its native habitat in Japan and South Korea.
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Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Asplenium antiquum 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.
