Example ⟳ +
An example collection, so you can see what this page does. Nothing added here is kept: leaving deletes it.

Phymatosorus papuanus (Baker) S.Matsumoto

Polypodiaceae · New Guinea, Solomon Is. +1 · listed by its family as a fern or moss

English names not checked: Wikidata's common names were not read for this page.

Photographs not checked iNaturalist and GBIF media were skipped (not asked) when this page was built. Not asked, or not answered, is not "none": nothing here claims there is none. Why the site says it this way.
Add one to my plants
Sow seed
Habitat figures
Cold floor (1 night in 100)
14.3°C
Record low 10.8 °C in 44 years, at a typical spot in the range NASA POWER
Warmest month, mean daily high
23°C
Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Sep, Oct, Nov and Dec at the habitat CHELSA
Rain a year (median across the range)
3,555mm
12 months of 25 mm or more in the median year CHELSA
Open-sky light
26–33DLI
Lowest to highest month (DLI) CHELSA
The year in the habitat's months, not shifted
  1. Jan
  2. Feb
  3. Mar
  4. Apr
  5. May
  6. Jun
  7. Jul
  8. Aug
  9. Sep
  10. Oct
  11. Nov
  12. Dec
Rain spread: 70% of the median year's rain takes 8 months, so no short rainy season. rain rule, CHELSA
Not shifted: the shift rule does not apply to this habitat. The chart is in the habitat's months.

Cultivation

Grouped as a fern or moss, listed under the family Polypodiaceae in the archetype table, and Kew describes it as “epiphyte”.

Seasons

The rain rule reads no short rainy season: 70% of the median year's rain (2,643 mm of 3,597 mm) takes 8 months, October to May. Mean temperature moves 1.2 °C between the warmest and coldest month. Months are the habitat's, southern hemisphere. The habitat lies within 10° of the equator, where the shift rule does not apply, so they are not shifted for a collection elsewhere.

Rain

3,597 mm in the median year at the habitat, 2,643 mm of it October to May. Wettest month March at 385 mm, driest month August at 222 mm. Across the grid cells of the range the year's total runs 2,369 mm to 7,298 mm, the 10th to 90th percentile of each cell's own year. The median of the cells' own yearly totals, 3,555 mm, is the year's rain at the top of the page; the 3,597 mm here is the median year's, the twelve monthly medians added, which the rain rule reads. Habitat calendar, southern hemisphere; median year across the grid cells of the range, CHELSA.

Light

Open sky over the habitat: 26 to 33 mol/m²/day across the year (daily light integral, median year across the grid cells of the range, CHELSA; the lowest 10th-percentile month across the cells is 21, the highest 90th-percentile month 36).

Warmth and air
Temperature

Coldest: the 1st-percentile night over 44 years at a typical spot in the range is 14.3 °C, the absolute minimum 10.8 °C, no frost in 44 years (NASA POWER daily minima). Warmest: the 99th-percentile day is 28.0 °C. Monthly means: the coldest month's mean nightly low 15.3 °C in August and September (across the grid cells of the range 9.6 °C to 23.5 °C), the warmest month's mean daily high 23.3 °C in November (median year across the grid cells of the range, CHELSA). Cold floor: 14.3 °C, which is the 1st-percentile night over 44 years at a typical spot in the range (NASA POWER).

Humidity

Relative humidity at the habitat: 69 to 71% across the year (monthly means, median year across the grid cells of the range, CHELSA). A figure about the air, saying nothing about how the plant takes water.

How this section is made

Each card states this species' habitat figures with their sources, and what two fixed rules read from them; nothing here says what the plant does, wants or tolerates. The rules · the terms.

Seasons. Read from the median year of CHELSA monthly rainfall and mean temperature across the grid cells of the range: 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 moves 4 °C or more and the habitat lies 10° or more from the equator. A reading of the curves, not an observation of the plant.

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

Light. 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.

Temperature. NASA POWER daily minima and maxima over 44 years at a typical spot in the range, lapse-corrected +88 m to its elevation; CHELSA monthly means, median year across the grid cells of the range. The cold floor is the 1st-percentile night named in its sentence. Not a measured survival limit for any plant in a pot.

Humidity. CHELSA relative humidity, median year across the grid cells of the range.

Group. Listed under the family Polypodiaceae in the archetype table, and Kew describes it as “epiphyte”. A group is taken only where Kew's description of the species agrees with the table's listing. The table gives no figure and no prose; the cold floor is the habitat's alone.

Climate across the habitat

Habitat months, southern hemisphere

Habitat climate of Phymatosorus papuanus through the yearWarmest months January, February, March, April, May, September, October, November and December, mean daily high 23 °C; coldest months August and September, mean nightly low 15.3 °C; 3,597 mm of rain in the median year (the twelve monthly medians added). Medians across the range, from CHELSA; the extremes at the edge from NASA POWER. Habitat months, southern hemisphere.5°10°15°20°25°30°28.0° 99th-percentile day, NASA POWER10.8° lowest night in 44 years, NASA POWER°C · day and nightcold quarter0200400600800mm rainDLI 26–33RH 69–71%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
day night rain medians and 10th–90th percentile across 56 habitat cells, CHELSA cold quarter: the three months around the coldest month's mean nightly low extremes over 44 years at a typical spot in the range, from NASA POWER, marked at the edge, in no month DLI, mol/m²/dayRH %each on its own scale
Figures by month
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Day °C23 / 17–2923 / 17–2923 / 17–2823 / 17–2823 / 17–2822 / 16–2722 / 16–2722 / 16–2723 / 17–2723 / 17–2823 / 17–2823 / 17–28
Night °C17 / 10–2517 / 11–2517 / 10–2516 / 11–2516 / 10–2416 / 10–2415 / 10–2415 / 10–2415 / 10–2416 / 10–2416 / 10–2516 / 10–25
Rain mm376 / 231–624377 / 207–685385 / 261–737330 / 222–688281 / 168–569246 / 130–522226 / 131–513222 / 129–525260 / 173–572278 / 168–495271 / 178–445345 / 235–674
DLI30 / 25–3529 / 24–3530 / 24–3429 / 24–3227 / 24–3026 / 21–2926 / 21–2929 / 23–3231 / 27–3533 / 29–3632 / 27–3630 / 25–34
RH %70 / 66–7471 / 66–7470 / 67–7571 / 68–7571 / 68–7571 / 68–7571 / 67–7670 / 67–7569 / 67–7469 / 67–7369 / 67–7370 / 66–74
How this section is made
Each figure is the median across the 56 grid cells on land that hold in-range records (61 records in those cells; 2 more cells hold records but no land by the elevation layer, so those records sit at sea and the cells are left out), with the 10th–90th percentile span across those cells after the slash where it differs. A dash is a month one or more of those cells has no figure for in the grid (a variable CHELSA does not carry there), so no median is taken rather than one over fewer cells. Extremes and elevation were read at a typical spot in the range, cell 1946:6535 (-7.325, 146.775). Over 44 years there: absolute minimum 10.8 °C, 1st-percentile night 14.3 °C, 99th-percentile day 28.0 °C. Normals: CHELSA V2.1 1981–2010 climatology, 0.05° cells (each the mean of ~36 1 km pixels). Across the range: median and 10th–90th percentile of each month across the 56 distinct grid cells holding 61 of the 63 in-range records (2 further cells with records at sea, by the elevation layer, left out); extremes and elevation at the typical cell 1946:6535 (its coldest month's mean nightly low nearest the median across cells); its position is the cell centre. Extremes: NASA POWER (MERRA-2) daily 1981–2024, cell -7.50_146.875, lapse-corrected +88 m at 6.5 °C/km. Elevation: ETOPO 2022, 1306 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 the cells of the in-range records placed well enough to read one, not at the marker.
Openly licensed records inside the range, framed on where they fall.

This species has no GBIF key of its own. Its records are GBIF's under the key of the name Kew's World Checklist holds as this plant: 4024892 (Microsorum papuanum (Baker) Parris, 502 records). No name was matched to GBIF; the keys are read from Kew's synonymy. How.

NativeNew Guinea, Solomon Is., Vanuatu · regions are the level-3 units of the World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions, as Kew's World Checklist records ranges, some under historical names such as Yugoslavia or Czechoslovakia (how).
Map marker-6.617, 146 · in the densest population, 82 records (37% of those in range)
Kew's description“epiphyte” · “wet tropical” · quoted from WCVP, RBG Kew (CC BY 4.0); not derived here
Evidence usedThe map marker rests on all 222 georeferenced records inside the native range; the climate across the range on the 61 of them in the land cells it reads, of 63 placed to within 10 km; the map shows only the 219 openly licensed ones, which alone would put the marker in the same place. 33 records outside the WCVP native range not used. 159 in-range records are placed to worse than 10 km, or with no stated accuracy (admitted only as a person's observation to three decimals), and stay on the map but off the climate.
Other GBIF keysRecords also from GBIF's key 4024892 (Microsorum papuanum (Baker) Parris): Kew's file holds it as Microsorum papuanum (Baker) Parris (synonym under Phymatosorus papuanus (Baker) S.Matsumoto); 502 records, from GBIF's download.
How this section is made
The map marker: the openly licensed record nearest the middle of the densest 1° population of the 222 in-range records; it decides nothing. Records outside the native range, living specimens and records marked introduced are not used; which records count.

Photographs

Not checked. iNaturalist and GBIF media were skipped (not asked) when this page was built. Not a statement that none exist.

Similar habitat climate The 6 nearest by mean daily high, mean nightly low and rain, month by month. How.

Coelogyne carnea Orchidaceae Medinilla alpestris Melastomataceae Coelogyne fragrans Coelogyne fragrans Orchidaceae Photo: CC BY, snotch from Sapporo, Hokkaido, JapanSobralia rosea Sobralia rosea Rose-colored sobralia Photo: CC BY, ViktorMaxillaria erikae Maxillaria erikae Orchidaceae Photo: CC BY, Alan RockefellerPearcea sprucei Pearcea sprucei Gesneriaceae Photo: CC0, author not stated

Other Phymatosorus 3 in the reference

Phymatosorus cuspidatus Polypodiaceae Phymatosorus membranifolius Polypodiaceae Phymatosorus nigrescens Polypodiaceae

Names & registers

Also known as Microsorum papuanum; Pleopeltis papuana; Polypodium papuanum. (WCVP, RBG Kew)

IPNIPOWOWikidataWFO

The record

Family
Polypodiaceae
Described by
(Baker) S.Matsumoto
Native to
New Guinea, Solomon Is., Vanuatu
Wild records
222 in range · 219 open

Every figure here is derived from public data by a stated rule and names its source; nothing about this species is written for its page by a person or by AI, apart from the marked, credited quotations. How →

Where this page came from built 2026-10-22
Kew's names (WCVP) kew.names answeredas of 2026-06-04Kew's entry Phymatosorus papuanus (Baker) S.Matsumoto (plant_name_id 3153830), read from Kew's names file
GBIF species record gbif.species not askedGBIF's backbone holds no one accepted species of this name, and a name it holds only as another species' synonym is not taken for this one, so GBIF's records were not asked
GBIF synonyms gbif.synonyms not askedGBIF's backbone holds no one accepted species of this name, and a name it holds only as another species' synonym is not taken for this one, so GBIF's records were not asked
GBIF common names gbif.vernacular not askedGBIF's backbone holds no one accepted species of this name, and a name it holds only as another species' synonym is not taken for this one, so GBIF's records were not asked
WCVP native range wcvp.distribution answeredas of 2026-06-04
GBIF occurrence records gbif.occurrences answeredas of 2026-10-21this species has no GBIF key of its own; its records are read under GBIF's keys for the names Kew's file holds as this plant, never by a name matched; GBIF occurrence download https://doi.org/10.15468/dl.hbdw64, of 2026-10-21; 502 records of GBIF's key 4024892, Microsorum papuanum (Baker) Parris (Kew's file holds it as Microsorum papuanum (Baker) Parris (synonym under Phymatosorus papuanus (Baker) S.Matsumoto)): the GBIF download; 2 records within 1 km of a botanic garden, herbarium or zoo left out (2 at a botanic garden or arboretum; Wikidata's list)
Habitat climate climate answeredasked 2026-10-22
Daily extremes (NASA POWER) climate.extremes answeredasked 2026-10-22NASA POWER (MERRA-2) daily 1981–2024, cell -7.50_146.875, lapse-corrected +88 m at 6.5 °C/km
Wikidata wikidata answeredasked 2026-10-22found by Kew's IPNI identifier 17572090-1, POWO 17572090-1
Wikipedia wikipedia nothing to reportasked 2026-10-22
iNaturalist taxon inat.taxon not asked
iNaturalist photographs, wild inat.photos.wild not asked
iNaturalist photographs, cultivated inat.photos.cultivated not asked
GBIF media gbif.media not askedGBIF's backbone holds no one accepted species of this name, and a name it holds only as another species' synonym is not taken for this one, so GBIF's records were not asked
Wikimedia Commons commons nothing to reportasked 2026-10-22
OpenAlex papers openalex not askednot yet asked for this reference; a later fill takes the papers from OpenAlex's snapshot

Every source is recorded as having answered, reported nothing, refused, failed, not been asked, or answered twice where one answer is taken (“not taken: two items answered”), and, for a source asked when this page was built, when: the figures are as the source held them that day; a source read from a file (Kew's World Checklist, a GBIF download) says "as of" the file's day instead; a row carried from an earlier build of the page names that build instead. Only “nothing to report” is ever shown as an absence. Records came from 17 datasets via GBIF.org; each carries its own licence.

Cultifolio

Opening your plants…