Philippine Mini java fern

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  Latifolia

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  Narrow Leaf

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  Trident
• Thor's Trident

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  Windelov

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  Petite

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  Philippine

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  Black Forest
• Fishtail

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  Flaming

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  Gold Sparkle

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  Narrow Mini

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  Needle Leaf

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  Philippine MiniThis page
• Sunrise

Care at a glance

Overview

Glue or tie Philippine Mini java fern to a small stone or bonsai-style branch and keep the rhizome out of the substrate. At 5 to 10 cm it fits the foreground of a nano or shrimp tank, where full-size Philippine would grow too tall. Low light and no CO2 are enough, and growth is slow, so trimming means removing an old leaf now and then. Flowgrow says the full-size Philippine does poorly in very soft, acidic water (it suggests 10 dGH and pH 6.6 or more), so moderately hard water is the safer start for the mini.

In the wild

Philippine Mini java fern is a cultivated form of unknown origin, though one US shop lists Indonesia. A Thai grower sells it next to its Petite, and a Singapore shop offers it as tissue culture. The full-size Philippine form comes from Panay in the Philippines. The species, Leptochilus pteropus, grows on rocks and wood along streams across Southeast Asia.

Good to know

Philippine Mini is a dwarf form of java fern (Polypodiaceae), now Leptochilus pteropus but sold as Microsorum pteropus. Its leaves have the hammered, bumpy surface of the Philippine form, but they are much narrower and arch out from the rhizome. The whole plant stays about 5 to 10 cm tall, where full-size Philippine reaches 20 cm or more with broader leaves. Petite java fern is about as small, with short, wavy leaves that lack the hammered texture.