Common Name: Staghorn
or Stag's Horn Fern
Botanical Name: Platycerium
Bifurcatum
Family: Polypodiaceae
Plant Type: Epiphytic
Fern
Origin: Philippines,
Malaysia, Australia, Africa and South America
Zones: 9 - 11 --
hardy to Orlando and Tampa Area
Height: 4"
Rate of Growth: Slow
to Medium
Salt Tolerance: Not
Salt Tolerant
Soil Requirements: None,
epiphytic fern which may be attached to a pad of moss or similar substrate and tied onto a
tree or board. If a large tree is not available a large wire basket may be used.
Water Requirements: Water
freely when in growth (mist daily), sparingly in winter
Nutritional Requirements: Balanced
liquid fertilizer monthly
Light Requirements: Partial
Shade
Form: Mounding
fern
Leaves: Deep
gray-green colored, lightly hairy heart or kidney shaped sterile fronds 5-18" in
diameter becoming papery and brown with age. Fertile fronds 5" to 6' long, deep
gray-green resembling antlers. Spores are produced in cinnamon-colored patches on
underside tips of the fronds. As the fronds age they fall off and are replaced by
new ones.
Flowers: None
Fruits: None,
produce spores year round
Pests: Sometimes
affected by Scale Insects
Uses: Show
piece
Bad Habits: Become
extremely large with maturity, must have strong support, may colonize entire tree.
Provides cover for tree frogs, lizards, snakes, palmetto bugs, etc.
Cost: $$ -
$$$ -- reasonable to expensive
Propagation:
Spores or detach and replant plantlets from parents when pups form mounds 4"
across.
Sources: 
A-Z Encyclopedia of Garden Plants, 
The Subtropical Garden, 
Tropical Gardening
