Cultivar

Platycerium veitchii 'Lion King'
Lion King

Latin: Platycerium veitchii 'Lion King'
Chinese: 獅子王
Japanese: ライオンキング
English: Lion King

Parent species
Platycerium veitchiisilver staghorn fern

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.

Care notes

What the name refers to

Lion King is a selection of Platycerium veitchii. It is a trade name, not a registered cultivar, and we have not verified its history. Labels often read P. veitchii 'Auburn River' Lion King or AR-Lion King: the first part, Auburn River, is the Queensland wild population behind Auburn River plants, and only the second part names the individual picked from it.

The furthest back we could trace it is an Australian grower whose video title, in Chinese, reads "pure Australian AR-Lion King No.3"; resales at Japanese auctions are titled "OC pup"; one seller spells OC out as "original clone", that is, a pup divided from the original selected plant. Every account agrees the parent is veitchii, and nobody calls it a hybrid; that it was picked straight from a wild plant, though, comes only from the sellers' side. The title carries a number, "No.3", so more than one individual may bear the name.

How to recognise it

Almost nothing specific is on record: one Japanese reseller says its shield fronds grow as magnificent as a lion's mane; that is a single seller's description. The grower's tags say "high finger" and "high shield", but those are only hashtags.
Traits shared by the Auburn River population (several sources): tall, narrow shield fronds with pointed tops; fertile fronds held nearly upright and on the white side.
Nothing published, whether crown height, lobe count or frond width, separates it from other Auburn River plants.

So Lion King is recognised by where it came from, not by how it looks: it only counts if it is a pup divided from the original plant.

A young mounted plant in the grower's hand: long, narrow fertile fronds angling upward and forking at the tips, silver-felted, with a pale new shield frond emerging at the base; the grower says the real show is two or three years awayPhoto: @higeplants · View on Instagram · not an LDS photo

Care

There is no advice specific to Lion King; grow it like Auburn River. Give it strong light so the white coat shows and the fertile fronds stand up; keep it on the dry side with good airflow, a thin layer of moss and few remounts. Full sun in a Taiwanese summer brings a heat risk, so strong light and airflow have to come together. Growers disagree on direct sun: one recommends avoiding it, others say the plant takes strong light; build up gradually from bright, diffuse light.

Easily confused with

Lion Head (P. 'Lion Head'): listed at Japanese auctions as wild veitchii × Banna#A. It is also whitish, with upright fertile fronds and tall, pointed shields, which makes it the easiest to mix up with Lion King.
獅子頭女王 ("lion-head queen"): listed by a Taiwanese seller as sporelings of P. wandae 'Lion', a different species altogether.
A high-crowned hybrid sold in Taiwan as 獅子王 (Lion King): only the listing title is visible and the parents are unknown; since the title says hybrid, it is probably not the Auburn River selection. Whenever you see the name, check the English name and the parent species.

Three questions before you buy

Is it a pup from the original plant? Lion King is kept going only by pups; anything labelled a sporeling is not the same individual.
Which mother plant was it divided from? A title has carried the number "No.3", so more than one individual may bear the name.
Can you see the mother plant? A small pup shows no tall crown, so ask for photos of the mature mother.

FAQ

Is the Lion King staghorn fern a hybrid?

No. Every account gives it as Platycerium veitchii, usually tagged Auburn River, meaning it comes from that wild population in Queensland; Lion King is the name of an individual picked from it and kept going by pups. It is a trade name, not a registered cultivar, and that it was picked straight from a wild plant comes only from the sellers. A listing in Taiwan uses the same Chinese name for what its title calls a high-crowned hybrid; it is probably not the same plant.

Are Lion King and Lion Head the same?

No. Lion Head is listed at Japanese auctions as a hybrid of wild veitchii × Banna#A; Lion King is a selection of veitchii alone. Both are whitish, with upright fertile fronds and tall, pointed shields, so they can look alike; check the English name and the stated parents when you buy.

Are there Lion King sporelings or tissue-culture plants?

We have only seen pups in circulation, listed at Japanese auctions as "OC pup", a pup divided from the original plant; we found no sporelings or tissue-culture plants sold under the Lion King name. Plenty of sporelings and tissue-culture plants are labelled Auburn River, but that is only the population name and does not make them Lion King.

Other cultivars of the same species

Names selected from the same wild species, usually compared side by side.