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.
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.
