Species · genus Platycerium · Polypodiaceae
Staghorn Fern
Platycerium superbum de Jonch. & Hennipman
Also known as: Regal Elkhorn
Cultivars of P. superbum
The named forms growers keep — each with its own page, each honest about how much we know.
No named cultivars catalogued under P. superbum 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.
Platycerium superbum is an epiphytic staghorn fern from the subtropical and tropical forests of eastern Australia, where it perches on tree trunks rather than rooting in soil. Mount it on a board or grow it in a fast-draining, airy medium and water by soaking the root mass, then let it approach dryness before watering again — water when the mount or medium feels light and nearly dry rather than on a fixed schedule. It wants bright indirect light, good airflow, and steady humidity, and will rot if left sitting wet.
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 7-14d)
- Humidity
- ai:claude-opus-4-8
- Soil
- ai:claude-fable-5
- Care
- ai:claude-fable-5
Bright, indirect
≈ every 14 days
High
15–27 °C
Mounted epiphyte or very open bark and sphagnum mix
Spores; rarely produces offsets, usually solitary
Dilute feed monthly in warm months; avoid the shield frond
Slow
Non-flowering 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.
No reference gallery yet
A few clear photos — habit, a mature leaf, a flower if it blooms — would give this page its eyes.
Add imagesSources: ai:claude-opus-4-8 · ai:claude-opus-4-8 (range 7-14d) · ai:claude-fable-5
Kept true by its growers
Every fact here carries its source. Grow Staghorn 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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