Asplenium ceterach
Rustyback is a small, tough evergreen fern of limestone crevices and old mortared walls, with thick, lobed fronds up to about 20 cm whose undersides are covered in rusty-brown scales. It is a resurrection fern: in summer drought the fronds curl inward to show only the scaly undersides and dry out completely, then flatten and turn green again after rain. It wants sun, sharp drainage, lime and dry air, the opposite of most ferns, and suits a wall, trough or alpine house better than a terrarium.
Where it grows wild
A lithophyte of fissures in limestone and other carbonate rocks and of lime mortar in stone and brick walls, from lowland towns to mountain rock faces. It usually grows in full sun or light shade on exposed, well-drained surfaces. Phenolic compounds and protective enzymes let it survive complete drying.
Reaches about 2700 m in mountains. The 54 records with an elevation span 226–869 m (median 500 m), and the measured sites lie between 5 m (Amsterdam walls) and 943 m (Alpes-Maritimes).
🔒 Growing it like that
The wild conditions above, turned into targets for a shelf, a tent or a greenhouse. The full profile has:
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Profiles are drafts built from measured range and climate and from published sources; each section carries its own confidence in the app. Photo from Wikimedia Commons, used under its CC BY-SA 4.0 licence, unmodified.