Species · genus Nephrolepis · Nephrolepidaceae
Fishtail Swordfern
Nephrolepis falcata (Cav.) C.Chr.
Cultivars of N. falcata
The named forms growers keep — each with its own page, each honest about how much we know.
No named cultivars catalogued under N. falcata 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.
An epiphytic fishtail fern
Nephrolepis falcata is a fern in the Nephrolepis group, most often met in cultivation through its form furcans, the fishtail fern. It is accepted as a distinct species with fronds that mark it out from the plainer sword ferns.
Source: Kew
A Philippine epiphyte
This fern's native range is the Philippines, where it grows as an epiphyte rather than rooted in open ground. Its natural home is the wet tropical biome, so it comes from conditions of steady warmth and moisture, often perched on trees rather than in soil.
Source: Kew
Rhizomatous, dissected fronds
Like other Nephrolepis, this species carries a rhizomatous, sometimes stoloniferous habit, staying evergreen through the year. Its fronds are narrow and pinnately divided, and in cultivated forms such as furcans that division becomes broader and more finely cut, giving the forked, fishtail-like tips the common name refers to.
Source: RHS
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 4-9d)
- Humidity
- ai:claude-opus-4-8
- Soil
- ai:claude-fable-5
- Care
- ai:claude-fable-5
Bright, indirect
≈ every 9 days
High
16–27 °C
Loose, humus-rich mix with steady moisture and good drainage
Division or rooted runners
Half-strength balanced feed monthly in the growing season
Moderate
Never flowers — the fishtail fern, reproduces by spores
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.
PrimarySources: ai:claude-opus-4-8 · ai:claude-opus-4-8 (range 4-9d) · ai:claude-fable-5
Kept true by its growers
Every fact here carries its source. Grow Fishtail Swordfern yourself? What you’ve observed — how it drinks, how it holds its color, a name that’s off — and a clear photo of your plant are exactly what keep this page honest. Contributions are reviewed before anything changes.
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