Asplenium flaccidum

Drooping spleenwort

A New Zealand and south-east Australian spleenwort whose thick, limp, leathery fronds hang from tree trunks and branches like green tassels, up to about 90 cm long. It is mostly epiphytic, growing from the coast to the tree line, and is a cool-temperate plant that needs mild conditions rather than tropical heat. It is easy in cultivation and makes a good hanging basket fern.

At home, aim for

Day Cool-growingTargets in Plantistry

Night Close to the dayTargets in Plantistry

Humidity Ordinary room humidityBand in Plantistry

Light Dappled lightDLI and PPFD in Plantistry

Expects a seasonal restGrows on trees (epiphyte)

Where it grows wild

Mostly epiphytic on native trees in tall forest and scrub, sometimes on the ground or on rocks among boulders. In Australian rainforest it often forms large hanging clumps on trees or rocks. It grows from a short, stout rhizome anchored in moss, bark and humus on trunks and branches.

Coastal to montane, reaching the tree line in New Zealand. The wild records carry little elevation data, but they span the whole of New Zealand from Northland to Southland and Stewart Island.

New Zealand: North Island, South Island, Stewart Island, Kermadec, Three Kings, Chatham and Snares IslandsEastern Australia: Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and TasmaniaWider south-west Pacific

🔒 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

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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 3.0 licence, unmodified.