Pteris longifolia

A brake fern of Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean and Brazil, with long, once-divided fronds bearing many narrow pinnae. It often grows on limestone rocks, walls and banks. It is easy and tolerant: give it bright indirect light, warmth and evenly moist, limey soil.

At home, aim for

Day IntermediateTargets in Plantistry

Night Close to the dayTargets in Plantistry

Humidity Ordinary room humidityBand in Plantistry

Light Dappled lightDLI and PPFD in Plantistry

No rest periodGrows in the ground

Where it grows wild

Grows in moist to seasonally dry forest, at forest edges, in ravines and on rocky banks. It is often found on limestone, including karst, old walls and roadcuts.

Recorded from sea level to about 2,500 m, with a median of 752 m. Most sites are lowland to submontane.

MexicoBelizeGuatemalaHondurasCubaJamaicaHispaniolaPuerto RicoLeeward IslandsVenezuelaBrazil

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

Start free Sign in

More Pteris

Pteris macilenta Pteris vittata Pteris cretica Pteris platyzomopsis Pteris tremula Pteris ensiformis Pteris carsei Pteris multifida Pteris tripartita Pteris adscensionis Pteris lydgatei Pteris melanocaulon All 20 →

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.