Asplenium dalhousiae

Countess Dalhousie's spleenwort

A small, drought-tolerant rock fern with a famously disjunct range: the Himalaya and Afghanistan, NE Africa and Yemen, and the Sierra Madre of NW Mexico into SE Arizona. It grows in shaded crevices of dry rock, curls up in the long dry season and revives with the summer monsoon, so it needs a real dry winter rest.

At home, aim for

Day Cool-growingTargets in Plantistry

Night Close to the dayTargets in Plantistry

Humidity Dry airBand in Plantistry

Light Bright, filtered lightDLI and PPFD in Plantistry

Expects a seasonal restGrows on rock (lithophyte)

Where it grows wild

Shaded rock crevices and ledges on cliffs and boulders in seasonally dry oak, pine or scrub woodland; the fronds curl and go dormant in drought and unfurl after rain.

Records span 890–3500 m, median about 1520 m.

AfghanistanPakistanIndia (West Himalaya)NepalEast HimalayaEritreaEthiopiaYemenSaudi ArabiaMexico (Northwest and Northeast)USA (Arizona)

🔒 Growing it like that

The wild conditions above, turned into targets for a shelf, a tent or a greenhouse. The full profile has:

✓ Day and night temperature targets, and the limits it tolerates

✓ Humidity band, and how to hold it

✓ Light as DLI and PPFD for a grow light

✓ Wet and dry seasons, and whether to rest it

✓ Substrate and airflow

✓ A step-by-step setup to grow it like the wild

Grow Asplenium dalhousiae? Add it to a free garden and its full profile opens. Pro opens all 38,374 profiles in the library, plants and fungi.

Start free Sign in

More Asplenium

Asplenium platyneuron Asplenium bradleyi Asplenium pinnatifidum Asplenium resiliens Asplenium rhizophyllum Asplenium montanum Asplenium scolopendrium Asplenium tutwilerae Asplenium ceterach Asplenium monanthes Asplenium nidus Asplenium septentrionale All 1023 →

Profiles are drafts built from measured range and climate and from published sources; each section carries its own confidence in the app.