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Species library › Bolbitis › Bolbitis heudelotii
Ferns Well documented

Bolbitis heudelotii

The African water fern: a rheophyte that grows attached to rocks and wood in fast, clean forest streams across tropical Africa. In cultivation it is grown fully submerged in aquaria or emersed in very humid paludaria, and it needs flowing, soft, slightly acidic water and moderate light.

Bolbitis heudelotii
Photo: Zaire at de.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
At home, aim for
Day Warm-growingTargets in Plantistry
Night Close to the dayTargets in Plantistry
Humidity Very humid airBand in Plantistry
Light Dappled lightDLI and PPFD in Plantistry
No rest periodAquatic

Where it grows wild

Rheophyte anchored to rocks and submerged wood in fast streams and rivers with sandy or rocky beds, usually along shaded gallery forest; it can sit emersed when water levels fall.

Records from 10 to 1,680 m, median about 500 m.

SenegalMaliGuineaSierra LeoneLiberiaIvory CoastGhanaTogoBeninNigeriaCameroonGabonDR CongoAngolaEthiopiaUganda

🔒 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.