Landscape Uses:
	Primarily recommended for natural landscapes and habitat restorations.
Ecological Restoration Notes:
Availability:
	Grown by enthusiasts.
Description:
	Epiphytic herbaceous fern. Leaves dark green.
Height:
	Pendent, with fronds 6-18 inches long or more.
Growth Rate:
	Moderate.
Range:
	Monroe County Keys north to southern Georgia; West Indies, Mexico, Central America and South America. In the Monroe County Keys, apparently limited to North Key Largo.
Habitats:
	Moist forests and swamps.
Soils:
	Epiphytic; almost always on Sabal palmetto in areas of high humidity.
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.
Wildlife and Ecology:
Horticultural Notes:
Comments:
	See a 2018 post on the Treasure Coast Natives blog on Shoestring fern's relationship with the moss Octoblepharum albidum.