Species · genus Nephrolepis · Nephrolepidaceae

Giant Sword Fern

Nephrolepis biserrata (Sw.) Desv.

Also known as: Broad Sword Fern · Fishbone Fern

Growth habit

perennial or epiphyte

Native range

Andaman Is., Angola, Argentina Northeast, Assam, Bangladesh, Bismarck Archipelago, Bolivia, Borneo, Brazil North, Brazil Northeast, Brazil South, Brazil Southeast, Brazil West-Central, Burkina, Cambodia, Cameroon, Caroline Is., Cayman Is., Central African Republic, Central American Pacific Is., China South-Central, China Southeast, Christmas I., Colombia, Comoros, Cook Is., Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, DR Congo, East Himalaya, Ecuador, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Fiji, Florida, French Guiana, Gabon, Galápagos, Ghana, Guatemala, Guinea, Gulf of Guinea Is., Guyana, Hainan, Honduras, India, Ivory Coast, Jamaica, Jawa, Kenya, KwaZulu-Natal, Laos, Leeward Is., Lesser Sunda Is., Liberia, Louisiana, Madagascar, Malaya, Marianas, Marquesas, Marshall Is., Mauritius, Mexico Central, Mexico Gulf, Mexico Northeast, Mexico Southeast, Mexico Southwest, Mozambique, Myanmar, Nansei-shoto, Netherlands Antilles, New Caledonia, New Guinea, Nicaragua, Nicobar Is., Nigeria, Niue, Northern Provinces, Northern Territory, Panamá, Peru, Philippines, Pitcairn Is., Puerto Rico, Queensland, Réunion, Samoa, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Society Is., Solomon Is., South China Sea, Sri Lanka, Sudan-South Sudan, Sulawesi, Sumatera, Suriname, Taiwan, Tanzania, Thailand, Togo, Tonga, Tuamotu, Tubuai Is., Uganda, Vanuatu, Venezuela, Venezuelan Antilles, Vietnam, Western Australia, Windward Is., Zambia, Zimbabwe

Reference · N. biserrata

Cultivars of N. biserrata

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

No named cultivars catalogued under N. biserrata 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 vigorous pantropical fern (the giant sword fern) found across humid lowland forests worldwide, growing terrestrially or as an epiphyte. It wants warmth, steady moisture, and bright indirect light rather than direct sun, which scorches its fronds. Water when the top inch of mix is just beginning to dry; the fast-draining habit of an epiphyte means it dislikes sitting wet, but its fine roots should not be allowed to dry out fully.

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 3-7d)
Humidity: ai:claude-opus-4-8
Soil: ai:claude-fable-5
Care: ai:claude-fable-5

Light

Bright, indirect

Water

≈ every 7 days

Humidity

High

Temperature

16–27 °C

Soil mix

Loose, humus-rich mix that holds moisture yet drains freely

Propagation

Division of the rootball or rooted runners

Fertilizing

Dilute balanced liquid feed monthly through spring and summer

Growth rate

Fast

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 3-7d) · ai:claude-fable-5

Kept true by its growers

Every fact here carries its source. Grow Giant Sword 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.