General Landscape Uses:
Primarily recommended for natural landscapes and habitat restorations. Identified by Fair Child Tropical Botanic Garden as a native that does especially well in shade in this
brochure.
Availability:
Grown by enthusiasts.
Description: Medium to large herbaceous fern.
Dimensions: About 3-4 feet feet tall. Fronds spreading and becoming as broad as tall.
Growth Rate: Moderate.
Range:
Miami-Dade, Broward and Collier counties; disjunct in central Florida in Manatee and Polk counties; West Indies, Mexico, Central America and South America. In Miami-Dade County, known only from hammocks south of the Miami River. In Broward County, know only from Fern Forest Nature Center.
Map of select IRC data from peninsular Florida.
Map of ZIP codes with habitat recommendations from the Monroe County Keys north to Martin and Charlotte counties.
Habitats: Humid forests.
Soils: Moist, well-drained limestone soils, with humusy top layer.
Nutritional Requirements: High; requires rich organic soils for optimal growth.
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 to wet soils 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. For a comparison of the vascular bundles between the invasive Mariana maiden fern and the native, endangered Florida tree fern from Connect to Protect Network,
click here.
