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Species library › Platycerium › Platycerium alcicorne
Ferns Well documented

Platycerium alcicorne

Platycerium alcicorne is the African and Malagasy staghorn fern, native to Madagascar, the Comoros, the Seychelles, Mozambique and Zimbabwe. It grows as an epiphyte on trees from near sea level to about 900 m. It is among the easier staghorns: it wants bright filtered light, warm days, a mount that dries between waterings, and good airflow.

Platycerium alcicorne
Photo: Daderot, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
At home, aim for
Day IntermediateTargets in Plantistry
Night Close to the dayTargets in Plantistry
Humidity Ordinary room humidityBand in Plantistry
Light Bright, filtered lightDLI and PPFD in Plantistry
No rest periodGrows on trees (epiphyte)

Where it grows wild

In Madagascar, herbarium records come from tropical rain forest (Andohahela), littoral and lowland forest near Sambava, and mid-elevation forest at Ivohibe and Manongarivo. It clings to tree trunks and branches, with shield fronds pressed against the bark and forked fertile fronds hanging free.

Georeferenced Malagasy specimens are from about 130 m (Tsihomanaomby) to about 920 m (Ivohibe).

MadagascarComorosSeychellesMozambiqueZimbabwe

🔒 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

Grow Platycerium alcicorne? Add it to a free garden and its full profile opens. Pro opens all 38,374 profiles in the library, plants and fungi.

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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 Public domain licence, unmodified.