Platycerium hillii 'Raijin'
Raijin

What the name refers to

Raijin is a selection of Platycerium hillii. It is a trade name, not a registered cultivar. The furthest back we can trace it: a Thai breeder numbers the hillii individuals he has selected, and Raijin is #4 in that series, which also includes an unnamed #5 and a #6 called Thathok. The name is Japanese for "thunder god", but the breeder is in Thailand; this is not a Japanese selection. That account comes from Japanese sellers and a Japanese variety database, not from the breeder himself, and we have not verified when or how the plant was selected.

The parent is hillii, with no record of hybridisation. Japanese sellers say the plants in circulation are pups that came from the breeder; another Japanese seller lists it as tissue culture, which we have not checked.

How to recognise it

Where several sources agree:

• Very broad fertile fronds: noticeably wider than an ordinary hillii, and the trait mentioned most often.
• Deep green with raised veins: the veins stand up clearly from the frond.
• Wide, thick, wavy lobes: one seller says the lobes look like "toes" rather than the "fingers" of a typical hillii.
• A three-dimensional habit: the fronds undulate instead of lying flat.

One further source mentions round shield fronds with slightly wavy edges.

All of this shows on a mature plant, not on a young one.

Care

Grow it like hillii: bright, diffuse light, water thoroughly once the medium is nearly dry, and good airflow. Two things deserve extra attention. Japanese sellers recommend part shade and no direct sun, so keep it out of midday and harsh summer light, adjusting gradually as described in does a staghorn fern need sun. In winter keep it above 10°C, and protect it early when a cold snap is coming, as in overwintering Platycerium. A freshly divided pup has few roots, so keep it in diffuse light with good air, move it as little as possible, and adjust its position only once the roots have taken hold.

What it gets confused with

• Rydeen: the name sounds close, but it is something else entirely. Rydeen is a hybrid of Mt. Lewis × High Finger, a hybrid with veitchii in its parentage, not a hillii. Check the full name and the parent species.
• Other hillii selections: Drummond, Panama, Hula Hands, Bloomei, Dragon and dwarf hillii are all hillii trade names, and broad, dark plants are not rare among them; photos alone rarely settle it.
• The same breeder's other numbers: #5 and #6 Thathok belong to the same series as Raijin, so if a label gives only a number, ask which one it is.

Three questions before you buy

1. How was it propagated? A pup is the same individual as its mother; tissue culture copies one plant, so ask which mother the culture came from; sporelings are offspring and segregate, so Raijin's traits cannot be assumed.
2. Can you see a mature plant? Broad fronds and wavy lobes only show at maturity, so ask for photos of the mother or of a mature plant.
3. Is the name right? Make sure it reads hillii 'Raijin', not Rydeen, and not just a number.