Species · genus Lecanopteris · Polypodiaceae

Kangaroo Fern

Microsorum pustulatum (G.Forst.) Copel.

Also known as: Hound's Tongue Fern · Kowaowao · Pāraharaha

Growth habit

rhizomatous geophyte

Reference · M. pustulatum

Cultivars of M. pustulatum

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

No named cultivars catalogued under M. pustulatum 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.

Microsorum pustulatum is a fern in the Polypodiaceae, growing from a creeping rhizome that often clings to rock or bark in shaded, sheltered places. Give it bright indirect light out of direct sun, and water when the top inch of mix has dried — the rhizome stores some moisture and rots if left sitting wet, so let it approach dry between waterings. It tolerates ordinary household humidity but appreciates steady moisture in the air and good drainage beneath it.

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

Medium

Temperature

10–27 °C

Soil mix

Loose, bark-based epiphytic mix that stays airy

Propagation

Division of the creeping rhizome

Fertilizing

Dilute balanced feed monthly in the growing season

Growth rate

Slow

Flowering

Non-flowering 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 Kangaroo 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.