Species library › Polypodium › Polypodium macaronesicum
Ferns Well documented

Polypodium macaronesicum

A creeping polypody of the Atlantic islands (Azores, Madeira, Canaries) that grows on mossy rocks, walls and tree trunks. Like its Mediterranean relatives it is a winter-green fern: fronds appear with the autumn rains and often shrivel during the dry summer, which growers should respect.

Polypodium macaronesicum
Photo: Johan N, CC BY-SA 3.0, 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 rock (lithophyte)

Where it grows wild

Lithophytic and epiphytic on shaded rocks, walls, banks and trunks in laurel forest and other humid island habitats; based on the genus group and island ecology.

Recorded from about 12 to 1200 m, median about 500 m, mostly in the cloud-influenced middle zone of the islands.

AzoresCanary Is.MadeiraSpain

🔒 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.