Nephrolepis cordifolia
A tough, tuber-forming sword fern with narrow, upright fronds 40–80 cm long, native from India and South-east Asia to eastern Australia and the Pacific. It grows on the ground, on rocks and on tree trunks in moist, partly shaded places and spreads by runners and small water-storing tubers. It is easy to grow indoors, but it is an invasive weed in many warm regions, so never plant it out or discard it where it could escape.
Where it grows wild
Grows as a terrestrial, lithophytic or epiphytic fern in moist, partly shaded sites: forest edges and floodplains, riverbanks, swamp margins, rocky outcrops, tree trunks and old walls. Wiry runners spread the clumps, and the underground rhizome system carries small round tubers that store water and help it survive dry spells.
Mostly lowland to mid elevations; few wild records carry an elevation, so there is no measured altitude range.
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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 3.0 licence, unmodified.