Platycerium coronarium
plat-ee-SIR-ee-um kor-oh-NAIR-ee-um
Also recorded as: Platycerium coronarium (J.Koenig ex O.F.Müll.) Desv. · Osmunda coronaria J.Koenig ex O.F.Müll. All names
Mature Platycerium coronarium photographed in Dak Pring Commune, Nam Giang District, Quang Nam Province, Vietnam, showing its crown-shaped shield basket and long hanging fertile fronds.
Mature · December 12, 2017 · © Truong Phuoc Han · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Original source ↗︎Recognize P. coronarium by its crown-shaped shield basket, long asymmetrical hanging fronds, and separate rounded or kidney-shaped spore-bearing disc. P. ridleyi has stiff upright fronds; P. holttumii and P. grande carry broad spore patches within the main frond. These… Read full description
- Species
- Platycerium coronarium (J.Koenig ex O.F.Müll.) Desv.
- Reported origin
- Myanmar · Thailand +8 more Details
Care
Growing this plant
Care difficulty: IntermediateGrows readily into a large clump when kept warm and humid. Leave plenty of room for its long hanging fronds. A little extra feeding during hot weather can support growth.
Give it bright, filtered daylight, such as near a bright window with strong sun softened by a sheer curtain. A grow light can help if daylight is limited.
Keep it in a warm spot through winter, away from cold drafts and dry heating vents. It struggles with cold, dry conditions.
Description
How this plant is recognized
A very large colony-forming fern that grows on trunks and branches in tropical lowland forest, mangroves, plantations, and disturbed habitats. Most records are below 500 m, with some approaching 1,000 m. Its shield basket traps leaf litter and stores moisture around the roots. Colonies expand through rhizome branches rather than root-produced pups.
The sterile shield or nest fronds are broad, fan-shaped, and approximately 40–110 cm (16–43 in) long by 25–55 cm (10–22 in) wide. Their bases are thick and fleshy, while their upper portions divide into tall, rounded lobes. Successive shields overlap to form the crown-shaped basket. Older shields curl inward and help retain accumulated leaf litter around the roots.
The fertile fronds are asymmetrical, repeatedly forked, and strongly pendulous. They are commonly 50–125 cm (20–49 in) long and can reach approximately 200 cm (79 in). One lower branch develops a separate stalked fertile lobe that is nearly circular, heart-shaped, or kidney-shaped. When mature, the entire concave underside of this lobe is covered by the brown spore-producing area. The remaining narrow divisions hang below the crown in a loose net-like arrangement.
Recognize P. coronarium by its crown-shaped shield basket, long asymmetrical hanging fronds, and separate rounded or kidney-shaped spore-bearing disc. P. ridleyi has stiff upright fronds; P. holttumii and P. grande carry broad spore patches within the main frond. These differences are clearest on mature fertile fronds.
Classification
Where this plant belongs
Platycerium
Platycerium coronarium (J.Koenig ex O.F.Müll.) Desv.
Names and usage
Original name · Latin
Alias · Latin
Alias · Latin
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Translated name · English
Translated name · English
Origin & history
What is known so far
Where this plant came from and how its identity developed.
Reported originMyanmar; Thailand; Cambodia; Laos; Vietnam; Malaysia; Singapore; Brunei; Indonesia; Philippines · Indochina; Malay Peninsula; Borneo; Sumatra; Philippines
Platycerium coronarium is native from mainland Southeast Asia through the Malay Peninsula, Borneo, Sumatra, and the Philippines. The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, a botanical research institution in the United Kingdom, accepts it in its Plants of the World Online database. Singapore’s National Parks Board, the country’s parks and biodiversity authority, also confirms its native occurrence in Singapore.
1785
The name coronarium means “crown-like” and refers to the tall, upright lobes of the shield fronds, which form a conspicuous crown-shaped basket. Johann Gerhard König first described the species as Osmunda coronaria in 1785. The French botanist Nicaise Auguste Desvaux transferred it to Platycerium in 1827, producing the scientific name used today.
Supporting photographs
Other documented views
Platycerium coronarium on a tree at Mutiara Resort, Taman Negara, Malaysia, showing a tall shield crown and long hanging fertile fronds.
Mature · April 14, 2013 · © Bernard DUPONT · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Original source ↗︎Cultivated Platycerium coronarium at the horticulture unit of UPM Bintulu campus, Malaysia, showing upright lobed shields and hanging fertile fronds around a pillar.
Shield frond · December 17, 2018 · © Wee Hong · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Original source ↗︎Platycerium coronarium colony on a tree at Permai Rainforest Resort, Sarawak, Malaysia, showing overlapping shields and hanging fertile fronds among the branches.
Mature · November 9, 2015 · © Bernard DUPONT · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Original source ↗︎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.
Taxonomy
Platycerium coronarium is an accepted species
Platycerium coronarium is an accepted naturally occurring species in Polypodiaceae.
Nomenclature
Publication and name meaning
Johann Gerhard König described Osmunda coronaria in 1785, and Nicaise Auguste Desvaux transferred it to Platycerium in 1827. The epithet refers to the crown formed by the shield fronds.
Native range
Native Southeast Asian range
The accepted range extends from Myanmar and Indochina through the Malay Peninsula, Borneo, Sumatra, and the Philippines.
Habitat
Lowland canopy epiphyte
P. coronarium grows mainly on trunks and exposed branches of large trees in tropical lowland forest and can also occur in mangroves, plantations, secondary forest, and roadside habitat.
Ecology
Crown-shaped leaf-litter basket
Overlapping shield fronds form a crown-like basket that traps leaf litter and creates a moist, nutrient-rich root environment.
Description
Large crown-forming shield fronds
Shield fronds are approximately 40–110 cm long by 25–55 cm wide, thick and fleshy at the base, and deeply divided into upright rounded lobes above.
Description
Pendant fertile fronds with a separate disc
Fertile fronds are asymmetrical, repeatedly forked, and 50–125 cm long, sometimes reaching 200 cm, with a separate rounded or kidney-shaped lobe whose underside is covered by sporangia.
Growth form
Colonial growth from rhizome branches
P. coronarium forms colonies through offsets produced by branches of its fleshy rhizome rather than the root-produced pups typical of most colonial Platycerium species.
Reproduction
Eight-spored sporangia
The specialized fertile lobe bears sporangia that normally contain eight spores, an unusual condition shared with P. ridleyi.
Propagation
Spore and clonal propagation
P. coronarium can be propagated sexually from spores, clonally from rhizome offsets, and through documented laboratory tissue-culture methods.
Evolution
Sister species of Platycerium ridleyi
DNA evidence places P. coronarium and P. ridleyi as sister species, consistent with their shared specialized fertile lobes and eight-spored sporangia.
Hybrid
Parent of Platycerium × kitshakoodiense
The formally published hybrid P. × kitshakoodiense has the parentage P. coronarium × P. ridleyi.
Conservation
Regional conservation differences
The species is treated as Least Concern in Peninsular Malaysia and the Thailand regional flora, Endangered in Singapore, and Critically Endangered under the Philippines’ 2026 national list.
Source register
Kew Science — Plants of the World Online
Platycerium coronarium (König) Desv. ↗︎Date not establishedInternational Plant Names Index
Platycerium coronarium (J.Koenig) Desv. ↗︎Date not establishedSingapore National Parks Board
Platycerium coronarium ↗︎Date not establishedStuart Lindsay; David Middleton
Platycerium coronarium ↗︎Date not establishedMalaysia Biodiversity Information System
Platycerium coronarium (Polypodiaceae): comparison with P. ridleyi ↗︎Date not established杉山拓巳
全年度 鹿角蕨栽培基礎書Date not establishedRiccardo Ciarle; Katrijn de Bock; Kevin C. Burns
Evolutionary origins and life-history correlates of coloniality in the epiphytic fern genus Platycerium ↗︎2025Reyno A. Aspiras
Sporophyte and gametophyte development of Platycerium coronarium and P. grande through in vitro propagation ↗︎2010Hans-Peter Kreier; Harald Schneider
Inference of Platycerium phylogeny and historical biogeography based on plastid DNA ↗︎2006Y.C. Wee; S.H. Kwa; C.S. Loh et al.
Production of sporophytes from Platycerium coronarium and P. ridleyi frond strips and rhizome pieces cultured in vitro ↗︎Date not establishedRosna Mat Taha; Noorma Wati Haron; Sharifah Nurashikin Wafa
Morphological and tissue culture studies of Platycerium coronarium, a rare ornamental fern species from Malaysia ↗︎2011International Plant Names Index
Platycerium × kitshakoodiense Ploy-ratana, Wannakr. & J.M.H.Shaw ↗︎Date not establishedPhilippines Department of Environment and Natural Resources
Updated National List of Threatened Philippine Plants and Their Categories ↗︎2026
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