Species
+

Nephrolepis cordifolia (L.) C.Presl

Boston fern, Erect Sword fern, Fishbone fern, Herringbone fern

Climate known 41 photographs Fern or moss
Add one to my plants Sow seed

Every figure on this page is derived from public data by a stated rule and says its source; nothing here is written by a person or a model, except the Wikipedia passage, which is quoted and marked as such. How it is made.

Summary

Nephrolepis cordifolia is a species of fern native to tropical and subtropical areas from India through Southeast Asia to Australia and the Pacific islands. It has been introduced to many other countries. It has many common names including fishbone fern, tuberous sword fern, tuber ladder fern, erect sword fern, narrow sword fern and ladder fern, and herringbone fern.

Text from Wikipedia, “Nephrolepis cordifolia”, CC BY-SA 4.0, quoted as written. Kept separate from everything derived here.

About the genus · Nephrolepis

Nephrolepis is a genus of about 30 species of ferns. It is the only genus in the family Nephrolepidaceae, placed in the suborder Aspleniineae of the order Polypodiales in the Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group classification of 2016. Species in this genus include plants commonly referred to as Boston ferns. More on Wikipedia ›

The opening of Wikipedia, “Nephrolepis”, CC BY-SA 4.0, quoted as written.

Family
Nephrolepidaceae
Described by
(L.) C.Presl
Native to
Cameroon, Gulf of Guinea Is., Comoros +45
Wild records
1012 in range· 531 open

At a glance

Warmest month
25°C
Jul, mean day; nights 20 °C (CHELSA)
Rain
1990mm/yr
12 wet months · peak Jun 270 mm (CHELSA)
Light
22–33DLI
mol/m²/day, winter to summer, open sky (CHELSA shortwave)
In short condensed by rule from the cultivation cards · not written by a person
Grouped as a fern or moss by the genus Nephrolepis, which is reliably one kind of plant (archetype table). Rain rule: a summer growing season, March to September in the northern hemisphere (March to September at the habitat, northern). Habitat rain 1990 mm a year, wettest June at 270 mm, driest December at 94 mm (habitat calendar, northern hemisphere). Open sky over the habitat: 22 to 33 mol/m²/day. Cold floor 5.5 °C (1st-percentile habitat night, NASA POWER).
Each sentence is one card's own one-line form, written by the same rule as the card (Its year, Rain, Light, Temperature); the note cannot say what a card does not. Months are given for the northern hemisphere (set your site in Settings to change this), and the habitat's own alongside. The cards · the figures.

Also known as Aspidium auriculatum (L.) Sw.; Aspidium auriculatum (L.) Wall.; Aspidium cordifolium (L.) Sw.; Aspidium cordifolium var. tambourinensis (Domin) F.M.Bailey; Aspidium edule (D.Don) Spreng. and 33 more.

Cultivation

Grouped as a fern or moss by the genus Nephrolepis, which is reliably one kind of plant (archetype table). The table supplies one figure for this group, a conventional minimum for the cold floor, and no prose.

Its year Rain rule: a summer growing season, March to September in the northern hemisphere (March to September at the habitat, northern).

This species’ habitat figures, and what two fixed rules read from them.

The rain rule reads a summer growing season: 70% of the year's rain (1450 mm of 1990 mm) falls in March to September, warmer than the year (wet-season mean 21.3 °C against a yearly mean of 20.0 °C). Months are the habitat's, northern hemisphere; shifted six months for a southern-hemisphere collection: September to March.

Read from the median year of CHELSA monthly rainfall and mean temperature across the envelope cells: the rain rule takes the smallest set of months carrying 70% of the rain and calls it winter when its mean is more than half a degree below the year's, summer when more than that above, and neither in between; the temperature rule, used only under 120 mm, names the cooler six months when they are at least a degree cooler than the other six. Months are shifted for the other hemisphere only where the temperature curve gives a season to reverse. A reading of the curves, not an observation of the plant.

Rain Habitat rain 1990 mm a year, wettest June at 270 mm, driest December at 94 mm (habitat calendar, northern hemisphere).

This species’ habitat figures, with their source.

1990 mm a year at the habitat, 1450 mm of it March to September. Wettest month June at 270 mm, driest December at 94 mm. Across the envelope cells the year's total runs 1071 mm to 3953 mm (10th to 90th percentile of each cell's own year) (median year across the envelope cells, CHELSA; habitat calendar, northern hemisphere).

CHELSA monthly precipitation, median year across the envelope cells. The rain that falls where the species is recorded; nothing about how the plant takes water.

Light Open sky over the habitat: 22 to 33 mol/m²/day.

This species’ habitat figures, with their source.

Open sky over the habitat: 22 to 33 mol/m²/day across the year (daily light integral, median year across the envelope cells, CHELSA; the lowest 10th-percentile month across the cells is 14, the highest 90th-percentile month 43).

CHELSA shortwave radiation at each envelope cell, a daily-mean flux taken to a daily total and converted at 2.07 mol of PAR per MJ. The sky over the habitat, measured; what reaches a plant under a rock, a shrub or a shade cloth is not.

Warmth and air Cold floor 5.5 °C (1st-percentile habitat night, NASA POWER).

This species’ habitat figures, with their source.

Temperature

Coldest: the 1st-percentile night over 44 years at the typical cell is 5.5 °C, the absolute minimum 1.9 °C, no frost in 44 years (NASA POWER daily minima). Warmest: the 99th-percentile day is 36.5 °C. Monthly means: coldest night 13.8 °C in January (across the envelope cells 5.3 °C to 21.0 °C), warmest day 25.3 °C in July (median year across the envelope cells, CHELSA). Cold floor: 5.5 °C, which is the 1st-percentile night over 44 years at the typical cell (NASA POWER); the archetype table's minimum for a fern or moss, 5 °C, is lower and does not raise it.

NASA POWER daily minima and maxima 1981–2024 at the typical cell, lapse-corrected to its elevation; CHELSA monthly means, median year across the envelope cells, CHELSA. The cold floor is the figure named in its sentence, and the archetype table's group minimum where that is higher. Not a measured survival limit for any plant in a pot.

Humidity

Relative humidity at the habitat: 61 to 65% across the year (monthly means, median year across the envelope cells, CHELSA). A figure about the air, saying nothing about how the plant takes water.

CHELSA relative humidity, median year across the envelope cells.

The figures the cards read from are in Climate below, and where they came from in Natural habitat.

Climate across the habitat

Habitat climate through the yearMean day from 19 °C in Jan to 25 °C in Jul; mean night from 14 °C in Jan to 20 °C in Jul. The cold quarter, Dec to Feb, is the three months around the coldest night. 1990 mm of rain a year, most in Jun. The bands show the 10th to 90th percentile across 674 habitat cells. Over 44 years at the typical cell the absolute minimum was 1.9 °C and the 99th-percentile day 36.5 °C; neither is dated to a month. Beneath: daily light integral and relative humidity through the year, each on its own scale.10°20°30°40°36.5° 99th-percentile day (undated)1.9° lowest night in 44 yrs (undated)°C · day and nightcold quarter0100200300400500600mm rainDLI 22–33RH 61–65 %JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
day night rain 10th–90th percentile across 674 habitat cells cold quarter: the three months around the coldest night extremes over 44 years at the typical cell, marked at the edge: undated DLI, mol/m²/dayRH %each on its own scale
Figures by month
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Day °C19 / 12–2720 / 13–2722 / 16–2522 / 19–2523 / 19–2724 / 16–2925 / 16–3025 / 17–3024 / 19–2923 / 20–2722 / 17–2520 / 14–27
Night °C14 / 5–2115 / 6–2116 / 9–2017 / 12–2017 / 12–2219 / 9–2520 / 8–2620 / 9–2619 / 11–2517 / 13–2217 / 11–2015 / 7–20
Rain mm96 / 35–263147 / 57–285156 / 72–262175 / 87–257226 / 90–386270 / 72–526202 / 54–487228 / 51–531193 / 50–51997 / 64–390106 / 44–30994 / 31–249
DLI23 / 14–4225 / 17–3730 / 22–3529 / 24–3530 / 18–3530 / 16–3433 / 18–3931 / 24–3631 / 27–3529 / 22–3924 / 17–4122 / 15–43
RH %62 / 57–7063 / 58–7063 / 59–6963 / 59–7064 / 59–7065 / 58–7065 / 56–7065 / 55–7064 / 56–7061 / 57–6961 / 57–6961 / 56–69

Each figure is the median across the 674 grid cells holding the 987 in-range records, with the 10th–90th percentile span across those cells after the slash where it differs. Extremes and elevation were read at the typical cell 2465:6629 (-33.275, 151.475). Over 44 years there: absolute minimum 1.9 °C, 1st-percentile night 5.5 °C, 99th-percentile day 36.5 °C. Normals: CHELSA V2.1 1981–2010 climatology, 0.05° cells (each the mean of ~36 1 km pixels). Envelope: median and 10th–90th percentile of each month across the 674 distinct grid cells holding the 987 in-range records; extremes and elevation at the typical cell 2465:6629 (its coldest month's mean night nearest the median across cells); its position is the cell centre. Extremes: NASA POWER (MERRA-2) daily 1981–2024, cell -33.50_151.250, lapse-corrected -86 m at 6.5 °C/km. Elevation: ETOPO 2022, 13 m (cell mean).

Natural habitat

Native range as published by WCVP; the marker is where the records are densest and decides nothing: the climate was read across every in-range record's cell, not at the marker.
Openly licensed records inside the range, framed on where they fall.
NativeCameroon, Gulf of Guinea Is., Comoros, Mauritius, Réunion, Seychelles, China South-Central, Hainan, China Southeast, Tibet, Japan, Korea, Kazan-retto, Nansei-shoto, Ogasawara-shoto, Taiwan, Assam, Bangladesh, East Himalaya, India, Laccadive Is., Nepal, Sri Lanka, West Himalaya, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, South China Sea, Thailand, Vietnam, Borneo, Jawa, Lesser Sunda Is., Malaya, Philippines, Sulawesi, Norfolk Is., New South Wales, Queensland, Fiji, New Caledonia, Vanuatu, Marquesas, Pitcairn Is., Society Is., Tubuai Is., Caroline Is., Hawaii· introduced: France, Spain, Italy, Azores, Canary Is., Madeira, Kenya, Tanzania, Cape Provinces, KwaZulu-Natal, Swaziland, Northern Provinces, Pakistan, New Zealand North, New Zealand South, California, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mexico Central, Mexico Gulf, Mexico Southwest, Mexico Southeast, Belize, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Jamaica, Leeward Is. AB Ant, Puerto Rico, Windward Is., French Guiana, Guyana, Surinam, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Galápagos, Peru, Brazil Northeast, Brazil Southeast, Brazil South, Argentina Northeast, Argentina Northwest, Paraguay
Kew's description“lithophyte or epiphyte” · “subtropical”· quoted from WCVP, RBG Kew (CC BY 4.0); not derived here
Map marker24.422, 121.01 · in the densest population, 402 records (40% of those in range)
Evidence usedThe map marker and the climate envelope rest on all 1012 georeferenced records inside the native range; the map shows only the 531 openly licensed ones, which alone would put the marker 7203 km away. 808 records outside the range (gardens, roadsides, misidentifications) ignored. 25 in-range records are placed to worse than 10 km and stay on the map but off the climate.
The map markerthe map marker: the openly licensed record nearest the middle of the densest 1° population inside the densest 4° block of the 1012 in-range records; it decides nothing.

Photographs

Nephrolepis cordifoliaNephrolepis cordifoliaNephrolepis cordifoliaNephrolepis cordifoliaNephrolepis cordifoliaNephrolepis cordifoliaNephrolepis cordifoliaNephrolepis cordifolia

Photographs: (c) zebedeugalinha, some rights reserved (CC BY) (2); (c) Alesha Teitzel, some rights reserved (CC BY) (2); (c) Martin Rady, some rights reserved (CC BY) (3); (c) Saryu Mae 前 朝琉, some rights reserved (CC BY).

Photographs: iNaturalist did not answer when this page was built; what is shown came from the sources that did.

Papers naming this species

Works whose title or abstract names Nephrolepis cordifolia, most cited first, from OpenAlex (CC0). A mention, not a cultivation source: nothing on this page is drawn from them.

Heavy metal tolerance in common fern species
Anthony G. Kachenko, Balwant Singh, Naveen P. Bhatia (2007) · Australian Journal of Botany
Contributions to a chromosome atlas of the New Zealand flora ‐ 38. Counts for 50 families
Peter J. de Lange, B. G. Murray, P.M. Datson (2004) · New Zealand Journal of Botany
Phylogenetics and biogeography of Nephrolepis - a tale of old settlers and young tramps
Sabine Hennequin, P. Hovenkamp, Maarten J. M. Christenhusz, Harald Schneider (2010) · Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society
In vitro propagation of Nephrolepis cordifolia Prsel
Haruzo Higuchi, W. Amaki, Shigetoshi Suzuki (1987) · Scientia Horticulturae
New Insights on Structures Forming the Lignin-Like Fractions of Ancestral Plants
Jorge Rencoret, Ana Gutiérrez, Gisela Marques, José C. del Rı́o (2021) · Frontiers in Plant Science
Level of trace elements in Pteridophytes growing on serpentine and metalliferous soils
Laura Cornara, Enrica Roccotiello, Vincenzo Minganti, Giuliana Drava (2007) · Journal of Plant Nutrition and Soil Science
Biomimetic Leaf-Shaped Wedge Structure with Mixed Wettability for Fog Harvesting
Mengwei Li, Shangzhen Xie, Guangyi Tian, Guopeng Chen (2024) · ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces

Similar habitat climate the 6 species whose habitat climate is nearest this one's: mean day and night, month by month, and rain on a log scale, in calendar order, so a habitat with the same seasons six months out is far, not near. Nothing else counts: not range, not family.

Other Nephrolepis 3 in the reference

History & registers

Where this page came from built 2026-09-20 · dossier v2 · node
gbif.species answeredcarried from build of 2026-09-19 (offline re-derivation; the backbone was not asked)
gbif.synonyms answeredcarried from build of 2026-09-19 (offline re-derivation; the backbone was not asked)
gbif.vernacular answeredcarried from build of 2026-09-19 (offline re-derivation; the backbone was not asked)
wcvp.distribution answered
gbif.occurrences answeredGBIF occurrence download https://doi.org/10.15468/dl.3h4zam
climate answered
wikidata answeredcarried from build of 2026-09-19 (rederive); that build: carried from build of 2026-09-19 (rederive)
wikipedia answeredcarried from build of 2026-09-19; this build: skipped
inat.taxon not asked
inat.photos.wild answeredcarried from build of 2026-09-19; this build: skipped
inat.photos.cultivated nothing to reportcarried from build of 2026-09-19 (rederive); that build: carried from build of 2026-09-19 (rederive)
commons nothing to reportcarried from build of 2026-09-19 (rederive); that build: carried from build of 2026-09-19 (rederive)
gbif.media answered
openalex answeredcarried from build of 2026-09-19; this build: skipped

Every upstream is recorded as having answered, reported nothing, or refused. Only “nothing to report” is ever shown as an absence. Records came from 132 datasets via GBIF.org; each carries its own licence.