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Species library › Polypodium › Polypodium fraternum
Ferns Partly documented

Polypodium fraternum

A creeping-rhizome polypody of Mexican and Central American mountain forests, ranging from Mexico to Colombia. It is most common at around 1,000–2,000 m in oak and pine-oak forest. It expects a pronounced dry winter and spring, then a wet summer, and it copes with drying better than most tropical ferns.

Polypodium fraternum
Photo: Lowe, E. J., Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
At home, aim for
Day Cool-growingTargets in Plantistry
Night Close to the dayTargets in Plantistry
Humidity Ordinary room humidityBand in Plantistry
Light Dappled lightDLI and PPFD in Plantistry
Expects a seasonal restGrows on trees (epiphyte)

Where it grows wild

It grows on tree trunks, branches and mossy rocks in seasonally dry montane oak and pine-oak forest, and also on the ground in rocky places. This is based on the genus and the record distribution.

Recorded from 46 to 2,820 m, with a median of about 1,420 m. Most records are from mid-elevation forests in Hidalgo, Veracruz, Puebla and Chiapas.

Mexico CentralMexico GulfMexico NortheastMexico NorthwestMexico SoutheastMexico SouthwestGuatemalaBelizeHondurasNicaraguaCosta RicaColombia

🔒 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 Public domain licence, unmodified.