The Whisk Fern is considered a "primitive" plant, a descendent of the first group of vascular plants. Whisk Fern grows both as a terrestrial (in soil) as well as an epiphyte (using another plant as host) and is found in subtropical and tropical areas of the world. It grows to a height of 2' with a spread of about 18" and requires an organic potting medium, warmth and humidity to do well.

I had never seen or heard of Whisk Fern until I found them sprouting from the bottom of two of my planters a few years ago and posted photos for identification on another gardening forum. I've come to really like these little plants.

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This fern ally is found over much of the tropical and subtropical world growing in cracks of rocks, on logs, on trunks and branches of trees, and on humus. It grows as far north as coastal South Carolina in North America. Whisk-Fern does not have real leaves but tiny scale-like structures on the stem which does the photosynthesis. It does not have real roots but has a branching rhizome (underground stem) that is covered with hair-like growth (rhizoids) that acts like roots, and often gets help from some mycorrhizal fungi in the soil to absorb nutrients. Sporangia (spore bearing structures) that are rounded and yellow form on the stems. I used to have a plant that appeared in a pot where I was growing a tropical El Salvador Yucca, but somehow I did not water in time and it died after having it for several years. It also appears as a "weed" in pots in greenhouses. I think it makes a nice annual or houseplant with interesting texture, and it is botanically interesting.

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