Stats

Lifespan: Perennial
Size: Medium
Diet: Photosynthetic
Biome: Tropical rainforest
Range: Southeast Asia
Movement: Sessile
Breeding: Spores
Defense: Camouflage
Status: Uncommon

About

An epiphytic fern from coastal eastern Australia that anchors itself to trees using flat, shield-shaped basal fronds that harden and brown with age, while its fertile fronds arch outward in dramatic antler-like forks spanning up to a metre across. Spores develop in rust-coloured felt patches at the tips of the fertile fronds.

Life cycle

1.
seed
A dormant seed waits for water and warmth before germinating.
2.
sprout
A first shoot emerges with cotyledon leaves and a tap root reaching down.
3.
sapling
A young plant grows true leaves and a stem or trunk, putting on height each season.
4.
mature
Fully grown, flowering or fruiting at adult size.

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Taxonomy

Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Tracheophyta
Class: Polypodiopsida
Order: Polypodiales
Family: Polypodiaceae
Genus: Platycerium
Species: Platycerium bifurcatum