Species · genus Asplenium · Aspleniaceae

Bird's Nest Fern

Asplenium australasicum (J.Sm.) Hook.

Also known as: Crow's-nest Fern

Growth habit

epiphyte

Native range

Caroline Is., Cook Is., Fiji, Gilbert Is., Line Is., Marianas, Marquesas, Marshall Is., New Caledonia, New South Wales, New Zealand South, Niue, Norfolk Is., Pitcairn Is., Queensland, Samoa, Santa Cruz Is., Society Is., Tokelau-Manihiki, Tonga, Tuamotu, Tubuai Is., Tuvalu, Vanuatu, Wallis-Futuna Is.

Reference · A. australasicum

Cultivars of A. australasicum

The named forms growers keep — each with its own page, each honest about how much we know.

No named cultivars catalogued under A. australasicum yet. When growers document a stable, named form, it earns its own page here.

Guide

The species-level account. Cultivar pages build on this and say where they differ.

Asplenium australasicum is a bird's nest fern that grows as an epiphyte across the tropical Pacific and warm coasts of Australasia, perching in tree forks rather than rooting in soil. It wants warmth, ample humidity, and bright indirect light filtered through a canopy, never direct sun. Water into the loose, fast-draining mix when the top inch is approaching dry, pouring at the base rather than into the central rosette, which can rot if left wet.

Care recipe

The species record — the baseline every cultivar inherits unless it says otherwise.

Care notes are early — not yet verified

Light: ai:claude-opus-4-8
Water: ai:claude-opus-4-8 (range 5-10d)
Humidity: ai:claude-opus-4-8
Soil: ai:claude-fable-5
Care: ai:claude-fable-5

Light

Bright, indirect

Water

≈ every 10 days

Humidity

High

Temperature

15–27 °C

Soil mix

Loose, humus-rich mix with excellent drainage

Propagation

Spores; division

Fertilizing

Diluted balanced feed monthly in the growing season

Growth rate

Slow

Flowering

Never flowers — a fern, reproduces by spores

ToxicityAuthoritative · species

Not yet documented

This is where toxicity lives — every cultivar of this species inherits it and none can override it.

Reference images

Every image credited. Licenses link to their deeds.

No reference gallery yet

A few clear photos — habit, a mature leaf, a flower if it blooms — would give this page its eyes.

Add images

Sources: ai:claude-opus-4-8 · ai:claude-opus-4-8 (range 5-10d) · ai:claude-fable-5

Kept true by its growers

Every fact here carries its source. Grow Bird's Nest Fern yourself? What you’ve observed — how it drinks, how it holds its color, a name that’s off — is exactly what keeps this page honest. Contributions are reviewed before anything changes.