Phlebodium Aureum “Golden Serpent Fern”

Phlebodium aureum, or Golden Serpent Fern, is an epiphyte and also occasionally a terrestrial fern with deeply lobed fronds that range in colour from bright green to almost blue, and which can grow up to 1.3 m in length. It produces small, smooth brown spore cases (called sori) on the undersides of the fronds, which may be mistaken for scale insects – do not try to remove them.

One of its distinguishing features is its rhizomes. These are creeping stems structures, up to 1.5cm thick (occasionally thicker) that grow along the surface of the ground or host tree, that have prominent golden scales – hence common names such as golden serpent fern and gold-foot fern.

In humid areas with plenty of rainfall, it is an evergreen, but where it grows in places with a dry season, it will become deciduous. When grown as a houseplant, it is best to keep it well watered unless you don’t mind it shedding its foliage every now and again. All our potted plants come in compostable coir pots.