Actiniopteris radiata(Sw.) Link

WFO wfo-0001107816 Accepted WFO 2026-06 8 photographs CC0 / CC BY

Plate 1 figs. a–h · 8 separate observations

Actiniopteris radiata, photographed by Hopeland
fig. a Hopeland, CC BY 4.0 / 2021-10-18 / obs. 171936145
Actiniopteris radiata, photographed by Robert Taylor
fig. b Robert Taylor, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 126726478
Actiniopteris radiata, photographed by liam1294
fig. c liam1294, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 49123045
Actiniopteris radiata, photographed by Siddarth Machado
fig. d Siddarth Machado, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 60578799
Actiniopteris radiata, photographed by Siddarth Machado
fig. e Siddarth Machado, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 76362360
Actiniopteris radiata, photographed by Rajanna
fig. f Rajanna, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 184787251
Actiniopteris radiata, photographed by Robert Taylor
fig. g Robert Taylor, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 116393083
Actiniopteris radiata, photographed by rosshawkins
fig. h rosshawkins, CC0 1.0 / obs. 202903879

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 38 botanical countries

Regions where Actiniopteris radiata is native: Angola, Botswana, Cameroon, Cape Provinces, Cape Verde, Chad, Comoros, Djibouti, DR Congo, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Kenya, KwaZulu-Natal, Madagascar, Mali, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Northern Provinces, Rwanda, Seychelles, Somalia, Sudan-South Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Afghanistan, Iran, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, India, Myanmar, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, West Himalaya AngolaBotswanaCameroonCape ProvincesChadDjiboutiDR CongoEswatiniEthiopiaKenyaKwaZulu-NatalMadagascarMaliMozambiqueNamibiaNigeriaNorthern ProvincesRwandaSomaliaSudan-South SudanTanzaniaTogoUgandaZambiaZimbabweAfghanistanIranOmanSaudi ArabiaYemenIndiaMyanmarPakistanSri LankaWest Himalaya Cape VerdeComorosSeychelles
Native distribution of Actiniopteris radiata, 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
Angola ANG AFRICA
Botswana BOT
Cameroon CMN
Cape Provinces CPP
Cape Verde CVI
Chad CHA
Comoros COM
Djibouti DJI
DR Congo ZAI
Eswatini SWZ
Ethiopia ETH
Kenya KEN
KwaZulu-Natal NAT
Madagascar MDG
Mali MLI
Mozambique MOZ
Namibia NAM
Nigeria NGA
Northern Provinces TVL
Rwanda RWA
Seychelles SEY
Somalia SOM
Sudan-South Sudan SUD
Tanzania TAN
Togo TOG
Uganda UGA
Zambia ZAM
Zimbabwe ZIM
Afghanistan AFG ASIA-TEMPERATE
Iran IRN
Oman OMA
Saudi Arabia SAU
Yemen YEM
India IND ASIA-TROPICAL
Myanmar MYA
Pakistan PAK
Sri Lanka SRL
West Himalaya WHM

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.

Also published as 13 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.

  • Acropteris dichotoma (Kuhn) Farw.
  • Acropteris radiata (Sw.) Link
  • Acrostichum australe Vahl
  • Acrostichum dichotomum Forssk.
  • Acrostichum radiatum Konig; Poir.
  • Actiniopteris australis Ettingsh.
  • Actiniopteris australis var. radiata (J.Koenig ex Sw.) C.Chr.
  • Actiniopteris dichotoma Kuhn
  • Asplenium polydactylon Webb
  • Asplenium radiatum Sw.
  • Blechnum radiatum (Sw.) C.Presl
  • Pteris dichotoma Kuhn
  • Pteris radiata (Sw.) Bojer

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. 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.