by Chuck Nishihira
This beautiful filmy fern is found in Costa Rica and Panama, but it’s distribution may be wider. The thin, membraneous, undulating leaves are fanciful especially when the plant is given time to cover a branch or rock. To achieve the best look, humidity needs to be kept lower than 100%. With filmy ferns it is easy to put them in a sealed container and to forgot about them. But in these situations, the rhizome will leave the substrate (as in the photo). With a little luck the plant can grow in an attractive manner, but many times it starts to look too “messy”. Kept in slightly lower humidity, but with a nice damp substrate, the rhizomes will adhere tightly and beautiful specimens can be grown.
