Blechnum medium

The common rasp fern, long known as Doodia media, a tough terrestrial fern with harsh, rasp-textured fronds that flush pink to red. In the range used here it grows from tropical Queensland to New Caledonia and the south Pacific islands, in warm forest with a marked dry season.

At home, aim for

Day IntermediateTargets in Plantistry

Night Close to the dayTargets in Plantistry

Humidity Ordinary room humidityBand in Plantistry

Light Dappled lightDLI and PPFD in Plantistry

No rest periodGrows in the ground

Where it grows wild

Rasp ferns grow on the ground in open forest, on rocky banks and along forest edges, often in more light than most ferns. The measured sites are on the Atherton Tableland and Cape York foothills at 250–320 m.

Recorded elevations span 10–2230 m with a median of 300 m (120 records).

QueenslandNew CaledoniaPapua New GuineaFijiLord Howe IslandNorfolk IslandCook IslandsAustral IslandsPitcairn Islands

🔒 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.