Platycerium superbum
Plant Number: 36
Common Name: Staghorn Fern
Scientific Name: Platycerium superbum
Derivation of name
Platycerium - is derived from the Greek words platys meaning "flat" and ceras meaning "a horn", referring to the shape of the fronds
superbum - from the Latin superbus meaning 'superb'
Description
Epiphytic (growing on trees) or lithophytic (growing on rocks) fern
Sterile fronds to 60 cm which form a humus-collecting bowl up to one metre across, where it collects insects and falling leaves, a valuable source of potassium and calcium
Fertile fronts to two metres which have brown sori, which contain the spores, on the underside
- Native to lowland rainforests in Queensland and Northern New South Wales
Human uses
Decorative fern
Acknowledgment: Mangroves to Mountains, Save our Waterways Now, Australian National Herbarium