Rabbit’s foot, bear’s paw, kangaroo paw, green worm. What do all these names have in common? They all describe types of “footed” ferns. The “feet” are really rhizomes that creep and crawl across the top of the soil surface, sometimes even covering and surrounding the pot. Of course, they may be crawling across rocks or some other surface in their native habitat, living in a minuscule amount of soil. I had a rabbit’s foot fern growing on a Hawaiian lava rock without any potting medium at all, but unfortunately, it contracted a horrible case of scale and now resides in the trash. These ferns are quite susceptible to scale. They can be treated, but I decided it wasn’t worth risking my other plants, and so got rid of it. Unfortunately, at this time, I am still battling some scale on my remaining ferns but have decided to keep trying.
Rabbit’s foot fern 2011
Rabbit’s Foot Fern
My rabbit’s foot fern Davalia fejeensis started small and you can see the difference between the pictures above and the ones below which span 7 years. I planted it in a shallow container, and that is all the potting medium it needs. The rhizomatous ferns have shallow root systems as they creep along the ground or over rocks in their native habitats. They will all thrive in moderate to bright light. Mine are in an East window and are doing well. (The picture above is from November 2011 and the camera I had wasn’t all that wonderful so I apologize for the quality of the picture. ) Fast forward to 2018. My fern feet have completely surrounded the pot. It is still going strong now in 2021.
Rabbit’s foot fern 2018
Below is my daughter’s newer rabbit’s foot fern.
Rabbit’s foot fern
Native habitats
These ferns come from South East Asia, Japan, and Australia. The rabbit’s fern comes from Fiji, thus the botanical name. They can be epiphytic or terrestrial, they like high humidity and bright, filtered light, and need well-drained soil but never let them dry out too much. I have done that to my caterpillar fern and it loses some leaves, but comes back just fine. Of course, I don’t recommend this, but I think the rhizomes hold an extra amount of moisture, and this feature has saved my plant more than once. They really want to stay evenly moist and are great plants for hanging baskets, as their “feet” can be seen better from below. I have mine on plant stands, so they are visible.
Propagation
They are able to be propagated quite easily. They can be separated or started from a piece of the rhizome. Cut a piece of rhizome away from the plant, making sure it has a frond attached to it. Lay the rhizome on top of the soil surface and pin it down to keep it upright. Make sure it stays moist and it should root and take off creeping across the soil in no time.
Green worm fern
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- Polypodium formosanum ‘Cristatium’
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- “Foot” creeping over the side of the pot
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- Green worm fern rhizome
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- Green worm fern Polypodium formosanum
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- The green foot looks like a green worm
The caterpillar fern is also called the worm fern, the E.T. fern, and the naked rabbit’s foot fern. This is a good example of why the Latin name should always be used to identify your plants. These are four names for the same plant and there may be more. If I identify it by using the Latin name, Polypodium formosanum, there will never be any question about which plant I am referring to.
Kangaroo Fern
The plant below is the kangaroo fern, or Microsorum diversifolium.
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- Kangaroo fern foot
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- Kangaroo paw fern
Bear Paw’s Fern
Below is my bear’s paw fern, Phlebodium aureum. I had to move furniture and move it out of the window so I could get a picture of it. It is really a large fern and I love the huge “paws”!
Up close of large foot
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- spores on the back of my bear’s paw fern
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- The spores throught the leaves
Blue Star Fern
The footed fern below is the blue star fern, Phlebodium aureum mandaianum, a much smaller version of the above fern.
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- Bear’s Paw Fern foot crawling across the potting medium
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- The growing tip
Try one of these unusual, interesting ferns. They aren’t your run-of-the-mill ferns and they can be a real conversation piece. They are great plants for children also as they can’t help but be interested in fuzzy, wormy-looking plants. Who wouldn’t be? Do you have a “footed fern”?
Have a great week, plant friends!
I have an enormous 20+ year old Rabbit’s Foot which I treasure and a Green Worm Fern is on my list to acquire, but I’ve never encountered the Kangaroo or Bear’s Paw Ferns. They’re exquisite! The last thing I need is more houseplants, but, at the very least, I’m going to have to acquire a Bear’s Paw. I’ve tried to propagate the Rabbit’s Foot with rhizomes a couple of times without success, so I periodically hack out a chunk of my original plant with attached roots and move it to a new pot. One of those picked up a scale infestation over the winter (as you say, they appear to be very susceptible), so I kept it isolated until I could move it outdoors this spring. An extended period outside through the hottest months has worked to rid some of my other plants of scale, so I’m hoping it works for the Rabbit’s Foot, as well. BTW — I found your site while researching care tips for the xeric Tillandsia species, and your post about Tillandsia care was enormously helpful.
Hi Ernie,
Thanks so much for finding and reading my blog posts. I really appreciate it and your comments. Scale is the worst on ferns, isn’t it? How do they find them? So crazy. I think putting it outside will help. If I have bad mealybugs, I always put the plant outside (if it’s summer) and it usually works to rid them of bugs. Lisa
I have a bears paw fern but the leaves do not stand up like yours, they hang down. I’ve never seen one with upright leaves like yours!
Hi Ashley,
There is more than one type of fern called bear’s paw fern. MIne has huge “feet” and leaves to match.Some have smaller “feet” and smaller leaves. I’ve never seen the one I have for sale since I purchased it at a small greenhouse near me. Maybe you could find one online.
Lisa
Do you do anything specific to achieve that?
Hi Ashley,
I think you have a different bear’s paw fern than mine.
Lisa