Species · genus Asplenium · Aspleniaceae

Bird's-nest Fern

Asplenium nidus L.

Also known as: Hawai'I Birdnest Fern · Nest Fern

Growth habit

epiphyte or lithophyte

Native range

Bismarck Archipelago, Borneo, Caroline Is., Christmas I., Jawa, Lesser Sunda Is., Malaya, Maluku, New Guinea, Philippines, Queensland, Solomon Is., Sulawesi, Sumatera

Reference · A. nidus

Cultivars of A. nidus

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

No named cultivars catalogued under A. nidus 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 nidus is a tropical epiphyte or lithophyte from the humid forests of Southeast Asia and the Pacific, growing in the crooks of trees and on rock rather than in soil. It wants a loose, free-draining mix that stays evenly moist but never sodden, since its perched roots rot if left wet. Water when the top inch of mix has dried, and pour around the rim rather than into the central rosette, which can collect water and decay.

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, peaty, moisture-retentive mix with good drainage

Propagation

Spores; division of the crown

Fertilizing

Weak balanced feed monthly in spring and summer

Growth rate

Moderate

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.