Species · genus Microsorum · Polypodiaceae

Monarch Fern

Microsorum scolopendria (Burm.fil.) Copel.

Also known as: Breadfruit Fern · Creeping Dune Fern · Musk Fern · Serpent Fern · Wart Fern

Growth habit

rhizomatous geophyte or epiphyte

Reference · M. scolopendria

Cultivars of M. scolopendria

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

No named cultivars catalogued under M. scolopendria 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 scolopendria is a fern in the Polypodiaceae that grows from a creeping rhizome, living either in the ground or perched on bark as an epiphyte. As a fern with exposed rhizomes it drains fast and resents sitting wet, so let the top inch of mix approach dry before watering, then water thoroughly. It wants warmth, steady airflow, and reliably moist air rather than soggy roots.

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

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, 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 Monarch 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.