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Species library › Platycerium › Platycerium ridleyi
Ferns Well documented

Platycerium ridleyi

A striking staghorn fern of Borneo, Sumatra and the Malay Peninsula whose shield fronds form deeply ribbed domes often occupied by ants. It grows high in the canopy of lowland rainforest and is regarded as difficult, needing warmth, bright light and constant humidity with fast drying.

Platycerium ridleyi
Photo: Dmitriy Konstantinov, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
At home, aim for
Day Warm-growingTargets in Plantistry
Night Close to the dayTargets in Plantistry
Humidity Humid airBand in Plantistry
Light Bright, filtered lightDLI and PPFD in Plantistry
No rest periodGrows on trees (epiphyte)

Where it grows wild

Epiphyte high on emergent trees in lowland and hill rainforest; its hollow shield fronds commonly host ant colonies.

Recorded at 250-630 m (3 records); other sites are lowland.

BorneoMalayaSumateraThailand

🔒 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 3.0 licence, unmodified.