Giant Leather Fern, Leather Fern

Acrostichum danaeifolium Langsd. & Fisch.

a-CROSS-tick-um  dan-ee-if-FOHL-ee-um

Ferns

Explanation of name: From Greek acros meaning “outer” or akrostichon meaning “terminal, at the end,” and stichos, meaning “a row or line,” in reference to the upper fertile pinnae (FNA). The specific epithet refers to the resemblance of the foliage to that of Danae racemosa, the so-called Poet’s Laurel.

Natural range: Central and Southern Florida, tropical Central and South America, The Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic. (HUX)

Natural habitat: Freshwater and brackish marshes, freshwater swamps, sinkholes in hammocks, (NE5)

Recognition: A huge fern! The Giant Leather Fern has coarse, deep green, leathery fronds 3’-15’ tall and may be 4.5”-24” across (NE5). Distinctive is the golden brown felt- or suede-like appearance of the underside of the pinnae of fertile fronds, created by sporangia spread across the entire lower surface of the pinnae, rather than being arranged into discrete sori. Fertile fronds are taller and more erect, with almost all pinnae fertile or with the distal ½ to 1/3 of pinnae fertile. (TOB).  Acrostichum aureum L. is similar and likewise native to Florida, although more on the western side of the state; it differs from A. danaeifolium by preferring salty habitats and by having the fertile regions of the fertile fronts restricted to the distal pinnae rather than covering most of the pinnae on the frond.

Landscape uses: Use the Giant Leather Fern as an accent or specimen plant near a pond or lake, or in combination with finer-textured ferns or grasses. Given a damp to wet, part-shade or sunny situation and plenty of room to accommodate its enormous proportions, Giant Leather Fern will make a dramatic landscape statement. Giant Leather Fern can form many dense clumps from basal suckers and according to OSO, will produce hundreds of offspring from spores in open moist areas.

Internet source: UF FPS-12 at http://hort.ufl.edu/shrubs/ACRDANA.PDF