Species · genus Microsorum · Polypodiaceae

Crocodile Fern

Microsorum musifolium (Blume) Copel.

Growth habit
epiphyte
Native range
Borneo, Lesser Sunda Is., Myanmar, New Guinea, Sumatera, Thailand
Reference · M. musifolium

Cultivars of M. musifolium

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

No named cultivars catalogued under M. musifolium 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.

A Southeast Asian and Pacific epiphytic fern that grows clinging to bark in warm, humid forest, drawing moisture from air and rain rather than standing water. Its roots want fast drainage and airflow and will rot if kept soggy, so let the top inch of a loose, bark-rich mix dry before watering again. Give it bright indirect light, never direct sun, and steady humidity.

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 5-9d)
Humidity
ai:claude-opus-4-8
Soil
ai:claude-fable-5
Care
ai:claude-fable-5
Light

Bright, indirect

Water

≈ every 9 days

Humidity

High

Temperature

16–29 °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

Moderate

Flowering

Non-flowering fern, grown for its rippled banana-like fronds

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 5-9d) · ai:claude-fable-5

Kept true by its growers

Every fact here carries its source. Grow Crocodile 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.

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