Basket Fern

Basket Fern
Drynaria rigidula
(dry-NAR-ee-uh) (rig-ID-yoo-la)
Synonyms: Oak Leaf Fern, Bird’s Nest Fern
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Here goes a limited description of this rare fern. It has up to 14 other botanical synonyms, which can give you a little idea about how technical the discussion could get. Basically the fern is considered native to Australia, New Caledonia, and maybe the island of Papua New Guinea. Some people also think it is native to SE Asia and parts of China.

This was growing as an epiphyte attached to a Palm tree, which is defined as “A plant, such as a tropical orchid or a Staghorn fern, that grows on another plant upon which it depends for mechanical support but not for nutrients. Also called aerophyte, air plant.” It however can also grow as an epilithic, “plant that grows on rocks or stony soil and derives nourishment from the atmosphere.” I guess that makes it pretty flexible except that it loves moisture and that narrows down where it can grow a bit. It is a big fern with some of the green fronds extending up to six feet in length. I have included the color version to see the dry papery fronds. They were weird to touch.

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I really feel like our trip to Hawaii was a botanical treasure trove of both rare and common tropical plants. It was a great learning experience for me. I have to put all the pictures that came out together and do some printing. Not looking forward to that.