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Species library › Platycerium › Platycerium elephantotis
Ferns Well documented

Platycerium elephantotis

The elephant-ear staghorn fern of tropical Africa, known for its broad, undivided, hanging fertile fronds and tall shield fronds. It is widespread from West Africa to Ethiopia, Kenya and Mozambique, mostly at mid elevations around 1200 m. It likes warm, bright conditions and dislikes cold.

Platycerium elephantotis
Photo: Anneli Salo, 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 Ordinary room humidityBand in Plantistry
Light Bright, filtered lightDLI and PPFD in Plantistry
No rest periodGrows on trees (epiphyte)

Where it grows wild

An epiphyte on trees in tropical African woodland, forest edges and riverine forest; species-specific canopy notes were not available.

Recorded elevations are 10–1830 m, median about 1200 m.

AngolaBurundiCameroonCentral African RepublicDR CongoEthiopiaGabonGhanaGuineaIvory CoastKenyaLiberiaMalawiMozambiqueNigeriaRwanda

🔒 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.