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triangle staghorn fern (Platycerium stemaria)

Platycerium stemaria is a perennial evergreen epiphytic fern with a clumping, multi-offset habit; it can grow on trees, while the genus as a whole can also grow on rocks. It is a wild species (not a hybrid or cultivar).

LightSources differ on light: it can be grown in full sun or partial sun and grows faster in full sun, but summer shade is advised, while another source recommends conditions closer to partial sun and avoiding intense midday
WaterIt prefers more water than other staghorn ferns; maintain suitable moisture during active growth, reduce watering in cold winter conditions, and avoid prolonged excessive moisture that can lead to rot. Keep evenly moist.
HumidityPlatycerium stemaria prefers high humidity.
TemperatureIt is reported to be sensitive to cold and not very sensitive to heat.
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Overview

Platycerium stemaria is a perennial evergreen epiphytic fern with a clumping, multi-offset habit; it can grow on trees, while the genus as a whole can also grow on rocks. It is a wild species (not a hybrid or cultivar).

Origin and habitat

Sources differ on its native range, describing it from west-central Africa into tropical Africa, with other accounts extending the range to the Comoros, Seychelles, and Madagascar in the Indian Ocean. It has an epiphytic habit and naturally grows on tree branches and trunks. It is reported from tropical to warm, humid environments, while the genus is generally distributed in tropical and subtropical regions.

Characteristics

Few-source estimates place mature height at about 0–150 cm and mature spread at about 100–100 cm. The fronds are dimorphic: broad shield fronds have wavy upper margins, are often symmetrical from side to side, and form a central V-shaped opening; new fronds may have short gray-white hairs and turn brown in autumn and winter. Fertile fronds are relatively broad and short or strap-like, extend outward and droop, repeatedly fork, are hairy beneath, and bear clustered sporangia on the underside near their tips.

Light

Sources differ on light: it can be grown in full sun or partial sun and grows faster in full sun, but summer shade is advised, while another source recommends conditions closer to partial sun and avoiding intense midday summer light. It is reported to tolerate some direct sun.

Watering

It prefers more water than other staghorn ferns; maintain suitable moisture during active growth, reduce watering in cold winter conditions, and avoid prolonged excessive moisture that can lead to rot. Keep evenly moist. A single source suggests summer watering at about every 1–2 days, so sources for this interval are few.

Humidity and airflow

Platycerium stemaria prefers high humidity.

Temperature and dormancy

It is reported to be sensitive to cold and not very sensitive to heat.

Growing medium and mounting

Platycerium stemaria grows on trees (epiphyte) and is reported to suit mounting on a board. For epiphytic cultivation, it can be secured to a wooden board, tree-fern board, bark, or a similar support, with the roots wrapped in a medium such as sphagnum moss that provides both moisture retention and drainage; when grown in a pot, a humus-rich, well-drained medium is reported to be suitable.

Feeding

Sources differ on feeding: balanced fertilizer is suggested, with recommendations ranging from more frequent diluted feeding during the growing season to much less frequent feeding for mature plants, while feeding is generally reduced in winter.

Propagation

It can be propagated by division or from spores; division is recommended after an offset or young plant reaches roughly palm size. It often produces offsets, and spores can be collected from sporangia clustered on the underside near the tips of fertile fronds for propagation.

Common problems

Strong midday summer light can scorch the fronds, while in cold winter conditions the cited guidance calls for reducing watering. It is sensitive to low temperatures and frost; winter cold calls for less watering, while strong summer light calls for shade. Scale insects are reported as a possible problem, and cultivation information for other staghorn ferns also mentions mealybugs. Anthracnose is reported as a possible problem, and excessive watering may cause root rot.

Identification

Platycerium stemaria has broad shield fronds with wavy upper margins and a central V-shaped opening, together with drooping, broad and short fertile fronds that repeatedly fork; clustered sporangia occur on the underside near the fertile-frond tips.

Photos

Platycerium stemaria
📷 Stan Shebs · CC BY-SA 3.0 · source

Sources