Trident java fern
Microsorum pteropus 'Trident'
Also known as Leptochilus pteropus 'Trident', Trident Java fern
Care at a glance
- Light
- Low light
- CO2
- No CO₂ needed
- Growth rate
- Slow
- Placement
- Epiphyte
- Type
- Rhizome
- Temperature
- 64–82°F (18–28°C)
- pH
- 5.0–7.5
- Hardness
- 2–15 dGH
- Max height
- 9.8 in (25 cm)
- Spread
- 5.9 in (15 cm)
- Nutrient uptake
- Water column
- Growth region
- Submersed or emersed
- Difficulty
- Beginner
- Origin
- Sarawak, Borneo (cultivated trade form)
- Family
- Polypodiaceae
Overview
Attach the rhizome to wood or rock with thread or gel glue and keep it above substrate, since burying the rhizome rots it. The finely divided leaves grow faster than most Java fern forms and stay relatively compact at around 15 to 25 cm, so it suits the midground and bushy hardscape planting. It wants only low light and no CO2, feeds from the water column, and throws plantlets generously, so it is one of the quicker ferns to fill in and propagate.
In the wild
A Java fern form thought to originate from Sarawak on Borneo, where the parent species grows attached to rocks and roots along forest streams and riverbanks. Like all Java ferns it grows both submersed and emersed where water levels shift, never rooting into the substrate. In the trade it is propagated as a stable cultivar rather than collected from the wild.
Good to know
Botanically Microsorum pteropus (Polypodiaceae, syn. Leptochilus pteropus), the Trident form has deeply lobed, feathery leaves with roughly two to five narrow finger-like lobes on each side of the frond. It grows from a creeping rhizome and propagates freely through adventitious plantlets on its leaves plus rhizome division. The lobed leaf shape is what gives it the forked, trident look and it is stable in cultivation.
Did you know
Trident grows and multiplies faster than almost any other Java fern variety and pumps out plantlets so readily that a single mother plant can carpet a piece of driftwood in a season, which is why it spread quickly through the hobby despite being a relatively recent find.
Where to buy
Some links may not be the exact species or variety.
- Glass Aqua Aquascaping plants and planted tank supplies
- Buce Plant Aquatic plants and aquascaping supplies
- Aquarium Plants Factory Aquatic plants shipped from a California greenhouse
…or ask your local fish store.
Appears in
Low-light plants · No-CO2 plants · Epiphytes · Beginner plants
Growing Trident java fern?
Track your planted tank, set reminders and plan your layout.
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