Species Guide
Platycerium, species by species.
Wild species and named cultivars, listed separately. Latin, Chinese and Japanese names, care notes, mother-plant photos, what is currently for sale.
Wild species18
Species that occur in the wild and carry a formally published botanical name. There are 18 of them; all are covered here.
Platycerium alcicorneUpdated
round shield staghorn fern
Platycerium alcicorne, the round shield staghorn fern, is the type species of the genus and comes from East Africa and Madagascar. Its shields are round, smooth and hug the board; its narrow, wedge-shaped fertile fronds fork repeatedly. A prolific pupper that tolerates sun, dry air and moderate humidity, it is one of the easiest species. Two forms exist, mainland African and Madagascan.
Platycerium andinum
Andean staghorn fern
Platycerium andinum is unmistakable: the whole plant is coated in silver stellate hairs, and its narrow fertile fronds hang like silver ribbons, over a metre on a mature plant. The only staghorn fern native to the Americas, from the eastern Andes of Peru and Bolivia, it dislikes stagnant damp, heat and cold, and is rated among the hardest species to keep.
Platycerium bifurcatum
common staghorn fern
Platycerium bifurcatum, the common staghorn fern, has grey-green, felted fertile fronds that fork deeply and often droop, over round shield fronds with shallow lobes along the top. It pups freely and builds a large clump within a few years. An eastern Australian epiphyte and the most forgiving species in the genus, it is also the parent of trade forms such as 'Netherlands' and 'Mt. Lewis'. A beginner's plant worth growing well.
Platycerium coronarium
crown staghorn fern
Platycerium coronarium, the crown staghorn fern, is easy to recognise: tall upright shield fronds split into a crown, and fertile fronds hang from the top one to two metres or more, with spores on a separate kidney-shaped lobe. A lowland epiphyte of Southeast Asia, it pups, tolerates more than ridleyi, and needs room to hang.
Platycerium elephantotis
elephant ear staghorn fern
Platycerium elephantotis, the elephant ear staghorn fern, comes from seasonally dry tropical Africa around the Congo basin, Angola and East Africa. It is the only species in the genus with broad, unforked fertile fronds, ribbed like an elephant's ear. It follows a wet-dry rhythm, dropping fronds in a cool dry rest and regrowing in spring, and it pups freely.
Platycerium ellisii
Ellis's staghorn fern
Platycerium ellisii has upright, broad, wedge-shaped fertile fronds that split only once at the tip, over round, glossy shield fronds that leave a gap between layers. A compact species from humid lowland forest in eastern Madagascar, it wants humidity but fails in stagnant air, pups freely, and reaches the trade mostly as tissue culture.
Platycerium grandeUpdated
giant staghorn fern
Platycerium grande, the giant staghorn fern, has tall, thin shield fronds deeply and symmetrically lobed at the top, and pendent fertile fronds up to two metres long that split into four main lobes and carry two spore patches at the second fork, the one reliable difference from P. superbum. A Mindanao endemic from the Philippines, it never pups and is grown only from spores.
Platycerium hillii
green staghorn fern
The species most often confused with P. bifurcatum: hillii's fertile fronds are darker green, almost hairless, held upright and forked only near the tips, and its shield fronds have an entire, unlobed top edge. A compact, clumping species from Queensland's wet tropics that pups freely; 'Rimklong' and 'Dragon' are the selections collectors search for.
Platycerium holttumii
Holttum's staghorn fern
Platycerium holttumii has thick, heavily veined fertile fronds that project forward in two unequal lobes, the short erect one forking again, above tall, deeply lobed shields that hold their white hairs and read pale. It is the species most often sold as P. wandae. A large single-crown species from lowland monsoon forest in Thailand and Indochina, spore-grown only, so compare the fertile fronds before you buy.
Platycerium madagascariense
Madagascar staghorn fern
Platycerium madagascariense, the Madagascar or waffle staghorn fern, is easy to tell by its shields: round, flat to the mount and covered in a raised honeycomb of veins, vivid green when active, with short fertile fronds spreading outward. The smallest species in the genus, from humid forest in eastern Madagascar, it pups readily but demands constant humidity, moving air and mild temperatures.
Platycerium quadridichotomum
four-forked staghorn fern
Platycerium quadridichotomum is named for its fertile fronds: pendent, wavy-edged and forked twice into four tips. In the dry season the shields turn brown and the fertile fronds roll into tubes, which is dormancy, not death. From the dry deciduous forests of Madagascar and unrelated to bifurcatum, it is rated among the hardest species to keep.
Platycerium ridleyi
Ridley's staghorn fern
Platycerium ridleyi is unmistakable: its ribbed shield fronds close into a ball around the mount, and its upright, forked fertile fronds carry spores on separate spoon-shaped lobes. A canopy epiphyte of Peninsular Malaysia, Sumatra and Borneo, it never pups, needs bright light with moving air, and is the most sought-after species among collectors.
Platycerium stemaria
triangle staghorn fern
Platycerium stemaria, the triangle staghorn fern, has tall shield fronds whose wavy tops flare outward and leave a V-shaped gap where two meet, and short, broad fertile fronds that are glossy dark green above and thickly felted white beneath. A West and Central African epiphyte, it pups freely, likes water and heat, and is one of the easier African species in a warm climate.
Platycerium superbum
moosehorn fern
Platycerium superbum, the moosehorn fern, builds a huge nest of crown-lobed shields up to a metre across, with long, hanging fertile fronds that each carry a single spore patch in the first fork, the one reliable way to tell it from P. grande. An eastern Australian giant, it never pups and is grown only from spores.
Platycerium veitchiiUpdated
silver staghorn fern
Platycerium veitchii, the silver elkhorn, holds narrow fertile fronds bolt upright under dense white hairs, and on a mature plant the tops of the shields split into tall fingers. It is the most sun-, drought- and cold-tolerant staghorn there is, growing on bare rock in Queensland and taking direct sun that would scorch most of the genus. It pups freely and is the parent of 'Lemoinei' and the Auburn River form.
Platycerium wallichiiUpdated
butterfly staghorn fern
Platycerium wallichii, the butterfly staghorn fern, has broad, fan-shaped fertile fronds split into three main lobes like open wings, above tall shields with a lobed crown. It takes a real dry-season rest: the shields brown out completely and the fertile fronds curl, the stage most often mistaken for a dying plant, and watering has to drop with it. A single-bud species, grown only from spores.
Platycerium wandaeUpdated
queen staghorn fern
Platycerium wandae, the queen staghorn fern, has shield fronds that can span two metres with deeply cut tops, a distinctive frill of lacerated tissue around the bud, and fertile fronds in two unequal lobes, the long one broad and hanging. Native to lowland rainforest in New Guinea, it is the largest species in the genus. It never pups, so every plant is spore-grown, and mature specimens are collection centrepieces.
Platycerium willinckii
Java staghorn fern
Platycerium willinckii, the Java staghorn fern, has long, narrow fertile fronds that fork again and again and hang under a coat of silver stellate hairs, above tall shield fronds with deeply lobed tops. An epiphyte of seasonally dry forest on Java and nearby Indonesian islands, it is sun-tolerant, pups freely, and is the parent of most named cultivars collectors chase.
Cultivars19
Selected or hybridised plants given a cultivar name, written in single quotes after the Latin — for example Platycerium willinckii ‘Jade Girl’. Only names traded long enough in Taiwan to be recognised are listed.
Platycerium 'Pegasus'
Pegasus
Pegasus is a staghorn fern hybrid, generally said in Taiwan to be a three-way cross of willinckii, bifurcatum and hillii. The name comes from its posture: fertile fronds that rise and then arch down like a winged horse. Nobody can say who made it or when. It is adaptable and often recommended to beginners, but as a hybrid it will not come true from spore.
Platycerium 'Unicorn'
Unicorn
Unicorn is a trade name for a staghorn hybrid that its breeder labels P. veitchii × P. bifurcatum. It has a dense silver-white coat with a faint bluish tint and a compact, medium habit. We have not verified its history. It is sold as tissue culture and as sporelings, which segregate; it is also a common parent in crosses, and "Unicorn × something" is not Unicorn itself.
Platycerium 'White Wing'
White Wing
White Wing is a staghorn trade name, usually given as a P. veitchii × P. willinckii hybrid, though some sellers simply label it willinckii. The fairly reliable features are whitish fertile fronds and pronounced white veins; fronds spreading like wings is a seller's description. Information is scarce and its history is unverified. Most plants on the market are sporelings that vary a lot, so judge by photos of the actual plant.
Platycerium bifurcatum 'Mt. Lewis'
Mt. Lewis
Mt. Lewis takes its name from the Mount Lewis area of Queensland, Australia, and is one of the few trade names a journal paper has examined: a 2021 study treats it as a variant within the Platycerium bifurcatum complex, and the same plant has carried at least three names. The easiest thing to recognise is its raised main veins.
Platycerium bifurcatum 'Popcorn'
Popcorn
Popcorn is a trade name for a selection of Platycerium bifurcatum, with markedly upright fertile fronds whose forked tips burst open like popcorn. PlatyWiki records it as a Taiwanese nursery's pick from bifurcatum sporelings, which we have not checked further. With bifurcatum behind it, it is easy to grow; it comes as tissue culture and as sporelings, and sporelings are offspring that may not look the same.
Platycerium veitchii 'Auburn River'Updated
Auburn River
Auburn River is not a bred selection but a locality form of wild Platycerium veitchii from the Auburn River area of Queensland. It is prized for its silver and its tall, spiky crown, but whether the crown rises depends on conditions: strong light, cool temperatures and a wide day-night swing. In hot, humid lowland Taiwan it often grows short and round instead.
Platycerium veitchii 'Lemoinei'
Lemoinei
One of the oldest named selections in the genus, honouring the Lemoine nursery of Nancy, France. Greener and more divided than a wild veitchii, with a parentage that has been argued over since it was first offered. Its posture changes dramatically with light, so always ask how it was grown.
Platycerium veitchii 'Lion King'
Lion King
Lion King is a trade name for a selection of Platycerium veitchii, usually labelled P. veitchii 'Auburn River' Lion King: the first part is the Auburn River wild population of Queensland, the second the name of an individual picked from it and kept going by pups. Every account agrees the parent is veitchii; that it was picked straight from a wild plant comes only from the sellers, and we have not verified its history. Almost nothing published describes features of its own, so it is recognised by where it came from.
Platycerium willinckii 'Bacteria'
Bacteria
Bacteria is a trade name for a dwarf Platycerium willinckii and one of Taiwan's "six great dwarfs". Its point is size: a mature plant is roughly 20 cm across. Nobody can say who selected or named it. Being tiny makes it trickier, not easier, and with large numbers of sporelings and tissue-cultured plants now on the market, ask how any plant was propagated.
Platycerium willinckii 'Blue Queen'
Blue Queen
Blue Queen is a trade name for a selection of Platycerium willinckii, with silver-white fertile fronds that can carry a bluish cast, fairly narrow fronds, fine dense forking and curling tips. The original plant is small to medium rather than dwarf; dwarf individuals turn up among sporelings and are sold as "dwarf Blue Queen". It is said to be a sibling of Jenny; who selected and named it is unknown, and its history is unverified. The name has nothing to do with the wild species wandae, the Queen staghorn.
Platycerium willinckii 'Golden Boy'
Golden Boy
A dwarf selection of Platycerium willinckii with short, broad fronds, longer finger tips and a yellower cast. From the same batch as Jade Girl, OMG and Nano, and now one of the most widely propagated dwarfs. A trade name, not a registered cultivar.
Platycerium willinckii 'Jade Girl'
Jade Girl
A dwarf selection of Platycerium willinckii with fine, densely forked fronds under a heavy silver coat, and a reputation as the easiest dwarf to grow. A trade name rather than a registered cultivar: how to recognise it, how it differs from Golden Boy and Nano, and what to ask before buying.
Platycerium willinckii 'Jenny'
Jenny
The best-documented of Taiwan's six dwarf willinckii names, with press coverage behind it. Jenny is not judged by size but by frond detail: short, hanging fertile fronds, densely layered lobes that still run in an orderly direction. It is also the name most often faked, swapped or sold as a reverting sporeling.
Platycerium willinckii 'Nano'Updated
Nano
Nano is a trade name for a dwarf Platycerium willinckii and one of Taiwan's six great dwarfs; by the selector's account it came from the same Indonesian batch as Jade Girl, Golden Boy and OMG. The word itself just means very small, so different sellers may use it for different dwarfs, and with sporelings and tissue-cultured plants widely sold, ask about the mother plant and how it was propagated.
Platycerium willinckii 'OMG'
OMG
One of the dwarf selections of Platycerium willinckii: short, broad, repeatedly forked fronds, from the same batch as Jade Girl, Golden Boy and Nano. A trade name, not a registered cultivar. How to recognise it, how a true dwarf differs from a false one, and what to ask before buying.
Platycerium willinckii 'Robin'Updated
Robin
Robin is a trade name in the dwarf willinckii group, sold mostly as tissue culture. It is small and compact, with pronounced white veins and serrated, spiny fertile-frond tips. The Taiwanese nursery that selected it calls it a pick from willinckii Dwarf Nook sporelings, named through a naming contest; whether it is the same plant as Spur is unsettled. Shields come slowly and the growing point wobbles, so support it well when mounting.
Platycerium willinckii 'RU18'
RU18
RU18 is one number in the "RU series" of Platycerium willinckii. According to Japanese and Taiwanese sellers, the RU series consists of individuals propagated from wild Indonesian plants and told apart by number; it is a trade code, not a registered cultivar. We found no public description of RU18 itself, so judge a plant by its own photos and its mother's; care is as for willinckii.
Platycerium willinckii 'Spur'Updated
Spur
Spur is a trade name for a dwarf selection of Platycerium willinckii: very small, with fertile-frond tips that break into short, spine-like irregular forks and pronounced white veins. According to community records it was picked from Dwarf Nook sporelings and named after "bone spur" by a spinal surgeon. It is on the difficult side; treat it as an even smaller, slower dwarf.
Platycerium willinckii 'Totoro'Updated
Totoro
Totoro is a dwarf selection of Platycerium willinckii, sold in Taiwan as 豆豆龍 (Doudoulong). Its selector, Huang Chih-ming, says he bought it in 2022 as a dwarf Yellow Moon sporeling and grew it out and named it in Taiwan. It is a trade name, not a registered cultivar; pups of the original are few, most plants on the market are sporelings, and it is often confused with Yellow Moon Dwarf, which is a broader group.
Cultivar index
Each cultivar's parent species, where it came from, and how reliable that account is. Labelled from what we could verify; where nothing can be traced, we say so. All of these are trade names; none is a formally registered cultivar.
| Cultivar | Parent | Origin | Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| PegasusPlatycerium 'Pegasus' | Hybrid | Hybrid, said to be willinckii × bifurcatum × hillii; maker untraceable | Community record |
| UnicornPlatycerium 'Unicorn' | Hybrid | Hybrid; the title of a Thai breeder's post labels it veitchii × bifurcatum | Not verified by us |
| White WingPlatycerium 'White Wing' | Hybrid | Hybrid; usually given as veitchii × willinckii, though some sellers list it as willinckii | Not verified by us |
| Mt. LewisPlatycerium bifurcatum 'Mt. Lewis' | common staghorn fern | Mount Lewis, Queensland; the subject of a 2021 paper | Journal paper |
| PopcornPlatycerium bifurcatum 'Popcorn' | common staghorn fern | Per PlatyWiki, picked from bifurcatum sporelings at a Taiwanese nursery | Community record |
| Auburn RiverPlatycerium veitchii 'Auburn River' | silver staghorn fern | Locality form from the Auburn River area, Queensland | Known locality |
| LemoineiPlatycerium veitchii 'Lemoinei' | silver staghorn fern | Named after the Lemoine nursery of Nancy, France, founded 1849 | Century-old trade record |
| Lion KingPlatycerium veitchii 'Lion King' | silver staghorn fern | An individual picked from the Auburn River population and propagated by pups in Australia; sellers' account only | Not verified by us |
| BacteriaPlatycerium willinckii 'Bacteria' | Java staghorn fern | No record of selector or date | Untraceable |
| Blue QueenPlatycerium willinckii 'Blue Queen' | Java staghorn fern | Said to be a sibling of Jenny, on one seller's account | Not verified by us |
| Golden BoyPlatycerium willinckii 'Golden Boy' | Java staghorn fern | Same Indonesian batch as Jade Girl | Source says unverified |
| Jade GirlPlatycerium willinckii 'Jade Girl' | Java staghorn fern | Obtained from Indonesian collectors and named by Huang Yuan, 2016–17 | Selector's own account |
| JennyPlatycerium willinckii 'Jenny' | Java staghorn fern | Raised by Mr. Yot in Thailand; auctioned at Taiwan's first staghorn award, 2023 | Press reports |
| NanoPlatycerium willinckii 'Nano' | Java staghorn fern | Same Indonesian batch as Jade Girl | Community record |
| OMGPlatycerium willinckii 'OMG' | Java staghorn fern | Same Indonesian batch as Jade Girl | Source says unverified |
| RobinPlatycerium willinckii 'Robin' | Java staghorn fern | Picked from Dwarf Nook sporelings by a Taiwanese nursery and named through a naming contest; its link to Spur is unsettled | Selector's own account |
| RU18Platycerium willinckii 'RU18' | Java staghorn fern | One of the numbered RU series, said to come from wild Indonesian plants; no description of RU18 itself | Not verified by us |
| SpurPlatycerium willinckii 'Spur' | Java staghorn fern | Picked from Dwarf Nook sporelings by a Thai nursery; named after “bone spur” by a Taiwanese collector | Community record |
| TotoroPlatycerium willinckii 'Totoro' | Java staghorn fern | Bought by Huang Chih-ming as a dwarf Yellow Moon sporeling in 2022, then grown out and named in Taiwan | Selector's own account |