P. willinckii 'Jade Girl'
plat-ee-SIR-ee-um wil-LINK-ee-eye JAYD GURL
Also recorded as: 玉女 · Jade Girl All names
Cultivated example labeled Jade Girl, photographed at the Shui Mei Garden Plant Exhibition in Taipei, Taiwan
Mature · February 12, 2023 · © Slience Suzuka · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Original source ↗︎Recognizable by its compact dwarf size, slow-growing habit, rounded shield fronds, and short, multi-forked fertile fronds with narrow finger-like tips. The curly, downward-draping fronds and soft silvery-green finish give Jade Girl its delicate appearance.
- Species
- willinckii
- Reported origin
- Indonesia Details
Care
Growing this plant
Care difficulty: BeginnerOne of the easier dwarf willinckii selections and a good first dwarf staghorn. Its tiny fronds can make steady growth look slow. Water established mounts as the moss starts to dry, then let excess water drain; keep very small seedlings lightly moist rather than letting them dry hard.
Use a grow light indoors or a bright spot with filtered daylight. Outdoors, sheltered semi-shade works well; avoid harsh direct sun and strong winds. Keep gentle air moving around the plant.
Description
How this plant is recognized
A slow-growing dwarf selection with a compact, graceful habit. Its fertile fronds remain relatively short and close to the mount compared with typical Platycerium willinckii.
Rounded shield fronds wrap the mount and form a compact protective base around the plant.
Relatively short fertile fronds branch repeatedly into slender, elongated finger-like tips. They tend to curl or cascade downward and have a soft silvery-green to blue-silver appearance from their fine surface hairs.
Recognizable by its compact dwarf size, slow-growing habit, rounded shield fronds, and short, multi-forked fertile fronds with narrow finger-like tips. The curly, downward-draping fronds and soft silvery-green finish give Jade Girl its delicate appearance.
Classification
Where this plant belongs
Platycerium
willinckii
Names and usage
Original name · Traditional Chinese
Translated name · English
Origin & history
What is known so far
Where this plant came from and how its identity developed.
Reported originIndonesia
Taiwanese Platycerium grower Huang Yuan recalls that Indonesian contacts located the plant later known as Jade Girl alongside Golden Boy, OMG, and Nano around 2016–2017. He says he later acquired Jade Girl from Zijie and named it 玉女 in Taiwan. The 2025 book 鹿角蕨日記簿：栽培與觀賞 (Staghorn Diary) names the earlier buyer as grower 孫子傑 (Sun Zijie) and describes its later transfer to 花草空間, a plant business. The book also records a July 2020 release of Jade Girl sporelings in cups.
Taiwanese Platycerium grower Huang Yuan says he named the plant 玉女 (Jade Girl) for its slender fronds and heavy silver covering. The 2025 book 鹿角蕨日記簿：栽培與觀賞 (Staghorn Diary) similarly connects the name with its small size, pale appearance, and elegant, finely divided fronds.
People and organizations
The people and groups documented in this plant’s history.
黃源 / Huang Yuan
Person · TaiwanWebsite ↗︎Huang Yuan directly states that he acquired the plant from Zijie and named it 玉女.
Supporting photographs
Other documented views
Juvenile potted Jade Girl
Juvenile · Photo: Haruhana USA · © Haruhana · All rights reservedMature cultivated Platycerium willinckii ‘Jade Girl’ at Haruhana Nursery in Taiwan, showing its upright copper-brown shield crown and silver-green fertile fronds divided repeatedly into long, narrow, downward-draping tips.
Mature · September 20, 2026 · Photo: Johnny Lee · © World Platycerium Society · All rights reservedLineage and species
Species and documented relationships
willinckii
Propagation
What has been observed
Documented propagation
- Produces fertile spores
- Produces pups / vegetative offspring
- Tissue culture documented
Evidence
Documented claims
Historical and factual accounts shown with their review status and supporting sources.
Origin & history
Jade Girl early acquisition history
Huang Yuan states that Indonesian contacts located Jade Girl with Golden Boy, OMG, and Nano about six or seven years before March 2023.
Naming
Jade Girl naming
Huang Yuan states that he acquired Jade Girl from Zijie and named it 玉女 for its slender “hands” and heavy silver coating.
Origin
Jade Girl wild origin
Jade Girl was wild-collected in Indonesia.
Cultivation history
Jade Girl sporelings released in July 2020
Staghorn Diary records a July 2020 release of Jade Girl sporelings in cups that attracted strong demand.
Origin
Jade Girl’s earlier owner and transfer
Staghorn Diary identifies grower 孫子傑 (Sun Zijie) as an earlier buyer of Jade Girl and describes its later transfer to the plant business 花草空間.
Source register
黃源 / Huang Yuan
講一下古：侏儒爪哇的起源 ↗︎2023黃仕傑
鹿角蕨日記簿：栽培與觀賞 ↗︎2025PlatyWiki
Jade Girl / 玉女 ↗︎Date not established
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