Acrostichum aureumL.

Golden Leather FernLeather Ferngolden leatherfern

WFO wfo-0001107183 Accepted WFO 2026-06 8 photographs CC0 / CC BY / CC BY-SA

Plate 1 figs. a–h · 8 separate observations

Acrostichum aureum, photographed by Utain Pummarin
fig. a Utain Pummarin, CC BY 4.0 / 2022-05-02 / obs. 193453457

Every figure is a research-grade observation under CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA, rehosted with the photographer’s name, the licence and the observation it came from. Photographs under a NonCommercial licence are excluded from this site and are never stored, which costs us a great many pictures and is not negotiable.

Native range 98 botanical countries

Regions where Acrostichum aureum is native: Angola, Cameroon, Cape Provinces, Comoros, DR Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Gulf of Guinea Is., Ivory Coast, Kenya, KwaZulu-Natal, Liberia, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mozambique, Nigeria, Réunion, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe, China South-Central, China Southeast, Hainan, Nansei-shoto, Saudi Arabia, Taiwan, Andaman Is., Assam, Bangladesh, Bismarck Archipelago, Cambodia, India, Laos, Lesser Sunda Is., Malaya, Myanmar, New Guinea, Nicobar Is., Philippines, Solomon Is., Sri Lanka, Sulawesi, Thailand, Vietnam, Northern Territory, Queensland, Florida, Mexico Gulf, Mexico Northeast, Mexico Southeast, Mexico Southwest, Caroline Is., Cook Is., Fiji, Marianas, New Caledonia, Niue, Samoa, Society Is., Tonga, Tubuai Is., Vanuatu, Wallis-Futuna Is., Bahamas, Belize, Brazil Northeast, Brazil South, Brazil Southeast, Cayman Is., Central American Pacific Is., Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, French Guiana, Galápagos, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Leeward Is., Nicaragua, Panamá, Peru, Puerto Rico, Suriname, Trinidad-Tobago, Turks-Caicos Is., Venezuela, Windward Is. AngolaCameroonCape ProvincesDR CongoEquatorial GuineaGabonGambiaGhanaGuineaGuinea-BissauGulf of Guinea Is.Ivory CoastKenyaKwaZulu-NatalLiberiaMadagascarMozambiqueNigeriaSenegalSierra LeoneTanzaniaZambiaZimbabweChina South-CentralChina SoutheastHainanSaudi ArabiaTaiwanAssamBangladeshBismarck ArchipelagoCambodiaIndiaLaosLesser Sunda Is.MalayaMyanmarNew GuineaPhilippinesSolomon Is.Sri LankaSulawesiThailandVietnamNorthern TerritoryQueenslandFloridaMexico GulfMexico NortheastMexico SoutheastMexico SouthwestFijiNew CaledoniaBelizeBrazil NortheastBrazil SouthBrazil SoutheastCentral American Pacific Is.ColombiaCosta RicaCubaDominican RepublicEcuadorFrench GuianaGuatemalaGuyanaHaitiHondurasJamaicaNicaraguaPanamáPeruPuerto RicoSurinameTrinidad-TobagoVenezuela ComorosMauritiusRéunionNansei-shotoAndaman Is.Nicobar Is.Caroline Is.Cook Is.MarianasNiueSamoaSociety Is.TongaTubuai Is.VanuatuWallis-Futuna Is.BahamasCayman Is.GalápagosLeeward Is.Turks-Caicos Is.Windward Is.
Native distribution of Acrostichum aureum, after Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants. Introduced, extinct and doubtful records are excluded, so this is where the plant is from, not everywhere it now grows. Regions too small to draw at this scale are marked with a dot.
RegionTDWG codeContinent
Bahamas BAH SOUTHERN AMERICA
Belize BLZ
Brazil Northeast BZE
Brazil South BZS
Brazil Southeast BZL
Cayman Is. CAY
Central American Pacific Is. CPI
Colombia CLM
Costa Rica COS
Cuba CUB
Dominican Republic DOM
Ecuador ECU
French Guiana FRG
Galápagos GAL
Guatemala GUA
Guyana GUY
Haiti HAI
Honduras HON
Jamaica JAM
Leeward Is. LEE
Nicaragua NIC
Panamá PAN
Peru PER
Puerto Rico PUE
Suriname SUR
Trinidad-Tobago TRT
Turks-Caicos Is. TCI
Venezuela VEN
Windward Is. WIN
Angola ANG AFRICA
Cameroon CMN
Cape Provinces CPP
Comoros COM
DR Congo ZAI
Equatorial Guinea EQG
Gabon GAB
Gambia GAM
Ghana GHA
Guinea GUI
Guinea-Bissau GNB
Gulf of Guinea Is. GGI
Ivory Coast IVO
Kenya KEN
KwaZulu-Natal NAT
Liberia LBR
Madagascar MDG
Mauritius MAU
Mozambique MOZ
Nigeria NGA
Réunion REU
Senegal SEN
Sierra Leone SIE
Tanzania TAN
Zambia ZAM
Zimbabwe ZIM
Andaman Is. AND ASIA-TROPICAL
Assam ASS
Bangladesh BAN
Bismarck Archipelago BIS
Cambodia CBD
India IND
Laos LAO
Lesser Sunda Is. LSI
Malaya MLY
Myanmar MYA
New Guinea NWG
Nicobar Is. NCB
Philippines PHI
Solomon Is. SOL
Sri Lanka SRL
Sulawesi SUL
Thailand THA
Vietnam VIE
Caroline Is. CRL PACIFIC
Cook Is. COO
Fiji FIJ
Marianas MRN
New Caledonia NWC
Niue NUE
Samoa SAM
Society Is. SCI
Tonga TON
Tubuai Is. TUB
Vanuatu VAN
Wallis-Futuna Is. WAL
China South-Central CHC ASIA-TEMPERATE
China Southeast CHS
Hainan CHH
Nansei-shoto NNS
Saudi Arabia SAU
Taiwan TAI
Florida FLA NORTHERN AMERICA
Mexico Gulf MXG
Mexico Northeast MXE
Mexico Southeast MXT
Mexico Southwest MXS
Northern Territory NTA AUSTRALASIA
Queensland QLD

Region boundaries approximated from Natural Earth (public domain) and mapped to TDWG World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions (WGSRPD) level-3 botanical countries (Brummitt 2001). Indicative, not the official WGSRPD geometry.

Where it actually grows measured, from 1,170 observations

Condition 5th percentile Median 95th percentile
Coldest month, mean daily low 12.0 °C 21.9 °C 24.6 °C
Warmest month, mean daily high 27.9 °C 30.0 °C 34.2 °C
Annual rainfall 1,047 mm 2,112 mm 3,415 mm
Rainfall in the driest quarter 33 mm 124 mm 501 mm

It is not found anywhere that gets close to freezing. This is not care advice and it is not a forecast. It is a measurement: we sampled the climate at every one of the 1,170 research-grade observations of Acrostichum aureum that carry a coordinate, and this is the range those places actually span. The 5th and 95th percentiles are used rather than the minimum and maximum, because a single cultivated specimen in a heated conservatory should not widen a tropical plant's range to the Arctic.

This is not a hardiness zone. A USDA zone is the average annual extreme minimum temperature. The figure above is the mean daily minimum of the coldest month, which is a different quantity and is typically far warmer. Reading one as the other would place a plant several zones too warm, so we do not publish a hardiness zone, because we do not have one.

Also published as 37 synonyms

A synonym is not an error. It is a record of botanists disagreeing, in print, about where this plant belongs. Each of these was somebody’s considered answer.

  • Acrostichum aureum f. cristata Hahne
  • Acrostichum aureum var. hirsutum (Fée) T.Moore
  • Acrostichum aureum var. marginatum (Schkuhr) T.Moore
  • Acrostichum aureum var. urvillei (C.Presl) T.Moore
  • Acrostichum cayennense C.Presl
  • Acrostichum crassifolium Wall.
  • Acrostichum emarginatum Buch.; Roxb.
  • Acrostichum fasciculatum (Fourn.) C.Chr.
  • Acrostichum formosum C.Presl
  • Acrostichum guineense Gand.
  • Acrostichum inaequale Willd.
  • Acrostichum juglandifolium Kaulf.
  • Acrostichum lagolo Blanco
  • Acrostichum marginatum Schkuhr
  • Acrostichum maritimum Raf.
  • Acrostichum obliquum Blume
  • Acrostichum rigens C.Presl
  • Acrostichum scalpturatum C.Presl
  • Acrostichum spectabile Zoll.
  • Acrostichum urvillei (Fée) C.Presl
  • Acrostichum wightianum C.Presl
  • Aspidium emarginatum Willd.
  • Asplenium arifolium Burm.f.
  • Chrysodium aureum (L.) Mett.

and 13 more.

Sourcesevery claim on this page

  1. World Flora Online Plant List. accepted name, authority, classification. CC0. Retrieved 2026-07-12.
  2. iNaturalist. photographs and flowering annotations, CC0 / CC BY / CC BY-SA only. per photograph. Retrieved 2026-06-27.
  3. Wikidata. common name (P1843), joined on the World Flora Online identifier (P7715). CC0. Retrieved 2026-07-13.
  4. Kew, World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP v16). native distribution by TDWG level-3 botanical country, and life form. CC BY 3.0. Retrieved 2026-06-04.

We publish what we can source and we say so when we cannot. This page has no care advice and no toxicity claim, because we do not yet have those from a source we can cite.