Acrostichum danaeifolium

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Giant Leather Fern

Pteridaceae

Plant Specifics

Form:Fern
Size:6 - 12 ft tall by 5-10 ft wide
Life Span:Long-lived perennial
Flower Color:NA
Fruit Color:Brown
Phenology:Evergreen. Fertile fronds present nearly year round.
Noted for:Interesting foliage

Landscaping

Recommended Uses:

Specimen plant or mass background planting in moist areas. Could be used as a hedge. As this fern gets very tall, it is not appropriate as a groundcover.

Considerations:

Not drought tolerant.

Propagation:
Availability:Native nurseries, FNPS plant sales
Light: Part Shade
Moisture Tolerance:
always floodedextremely dry
 (Aquatic ----- to ----- Usually moist, occasional inundation)
Moisture Tolerance: Aquatic ----- to ----- Usually moist, occasional inundation
Salt Water Flooding Tolerance:Tolerant of inundation with brackish water
Salt Spray/ Salty Soil Tolerance:High. Can tolerate significant and ongoing amounts of salty wind and salt spray without injury.
Soil or other substrate:Clay, Loam, Organic material (muck), Sand
Soil pH:Circum neutral

Ecology

Wildlife:
  

Used as cover.

Insects:
Native Habitats:Brackish and freshwater marshes, swamps, river floodplains.

Distribution and Planting Zones

Natural Range in Florida
USDA Zones

Suitable to grow in:
10A 10B 11 9A 9B 

USDA zones are based on minimum winter temperatures

Comments

Ethnobotany:

Fiddleheads are edible.  Fronds have been used as thatch.

General Comments:

Can be cut back to improve appearance, but should not be severely pruned more than once a year.

Spores cover undersides of leaves giving them a bi-color appearance.