# Kiwi Mystery Fern



## thane (Sep 11, 2014)

This grew out of some New Zealand Sphagnum moss recently. Was hoping someone might be able to suggest what it is. 



This is the prettiest-looking thing I've had grow out of the moss. Everything else has been pretty boring so far, so I haven't posted any. My best guess is some sort of Maidenhair fern, but I don't think that's right. Best case scenario, this is some sort of previously-undiscovered fern with millions, but I just hope it's something that's not going to get gigantic or invasive, so I can leave it in there.

Thanks,
Thane


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## epiphytes etc. (Nov 22, 2010)

We get those all the time at the nursery. Here's what they look like when they start to mature, though I have no idea of their ultimate potential. I know it doesn't look the same right now, but this guy was just like yours a few months ago. I'm growing it out to hopefully get an ID eventually.


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## tardis101 (Apr 11, 2012)

I can't tell if it's the same thing or not (seems like it's not), but here is a picture of one of my maiden hair ferns.


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## thane (Sep 11, 2014)

Thanks Jason,

The closest one I can find to that doing an online search for New Zealand ferns is Asplenium bulbiferum, which it says gets 3 ft. wide and 4 ft. tall.

If this one gets very big at all I'll pull it out and pot it. Their national symbol, the tree fern, looks awesome but wouldn't fit in my house. They grow 30 ft. high. Hopefully this one doesn't get too crazy.

Let me know if you have any exciting updates. I'll plan to post new pictures if this one gets bigger and more "identifiable" also.


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## thane (Sep 11, 2014)

tardis101 said:


> I can't tell if it's the same thing or not (seems like it's not), but here is a picture of one of my maiden hair ferns.


Yeah I've seen some variability of the maidenhair ferns at the local nursery but this one just doesn't appear to be the same either. I'll just plan to grow it out, as Jason has done, and post any updates. But would be happy to hear any guesses anyone has.

Thanks,
Thane


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## thane (Sep 11, 2014)

Well I thought I'd post an update. The fern still looks about the same, but has another, bigger frond, about 6 in long. Still probably not enough to identify what it is, but thought I'd at least document the growth. It's gotten a little lighter in color, and has some brown spots on the left frond, so it might not be in the ideal growing conditions for whatever it is (guessing too much water sitting on the leaves and maybe too much light).




What's exciting though is there's another fern that's popped out of the sphagnum at the very top right in the last week or so. I think this one is really pretty, and hope it doesn't get too big that I have to remove it. If anyone has any guesses on this, I'd be happy to hear it.




Thanks for reading,
Thane


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