Pyrrosia heterophylla

A small creeping epiphytic fern from southern India, Sri Lanka and the Seychelles, with thick fleshy round sterile fronds and narrow strap-like fertile fronds along a thin wiry rhizome. It grows on tree trunks and rocks in warm, humid lowland to mid-elevation forest and plantations, and in cultivation does best mounted, with bright filtered light and frequent misting followed by quick drying.

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

Creeps over bark of trees and over rocks in humid evergreen and semi-evergreen forest, forest edges and old plantation trees. Built from the genus habit and the measured sites; species-specific habitat notes are thin.

Records span sea level to about 850 m; most dated records sit around 400-850 m in the Sri Lankan and Western Ghats foothills.

IndiaSri LankaSeychelles

🔒 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.