General Landscape Uses:
Primarily recommended for natural landscapes and habitat restorations.
Availability:
Grown by enthusiasts.
Description: Small herbaceous fern.
Dimensions: About 9-12 inches in height. Creeping and forming small patches broader than tall.
Growth Rate: Slow.
Range:
Monroe County Keys north to Duval, Marion and Citrus counties; West Indies and Central America. Very rare outside of Collier County. Presumed extirpated in Monroe, Miami-Dade and Martin counties; known from one location in Broward County and two locations in Palm Beach County.
Map of select IRC data from peninsular Florida.
Map of Postal Code Areas of IRC data from peninsular Florida.
Habitats: Moist forests and swamps.
Soils: Terrestrial in moist, well-drained humusy leaf litter, acid to neutral pH.
Nutritional Requirements: Moderate; can grow on nutrient poor substrate, but needs some nutrient inputs to thrive.
Salt Water Tolerance: Low; does not tolerate flooding by salt or brackish water.
Salt Wind Tolerance: Low; salt wind may burn the leaves.
Drought Tolerance: Low; requires moist substrate and high humidity and is intolerant of long periods of drought.
Light Requirements: Light shade to moderate shade.
Flower Color: N/A.
Flower Characteristics: There are no flowers; the plants reproduce by spores.
Flowering Season: All year.
Fruit: Inconspicuous spores.
Horticultural Notes: Can be grown from spores.
Comments: It is listed as endangered by the state of Florida.
