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Species library › Davallia › Davallia pentaphylla
Ferns Partly documented

Davallia pentaphylla

A small epiphytic hare's-foot fern with a creeping, scaly rhizome and once-divided fronds of only a few pinnae, ranging from Sumatra and Borneo east through New Guinea to Vanuatu and Fiji. It grows on trunks and branches of humid forest, mostly at middle elevations, and wants steady warmth, high humidity and a rhizome that dries quickly between waterings.

At home, aim for
Day Warm-growingTargets 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 on trees (epiphyte)

Where it grows wild

Epiphyte on tree trunks and branches (occasionally on mossy rocks) in humid lowland to lower montane rainforest; this is the habit of the genus and fits the species' scattered island records.

Records span 52–3700 m with a median of 825 m; most sites are 300–1700 m. The 3700 m upper record is far above the rest and is probably a georeferencing or identification error.

IndonesiaPapua New GuineaVanuatuSolomon IslandsFijiMalaysia (Borneo)Timor-Leste

🔒 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.