Ceratopteris thalictroides(L.) Brongn.

watersprite

WFO wfo-0001107241 Accepted WFO 2026-06 3 photographs CC BY

Plate 1 figs. a–c · 1 observation

This species has been photographed under an open licence only 1 time, so some figures below are different views of the same plant, taken on the same day, rather than different individuals. They are usually different parts of it: the leaf, the flower, the bark.

Ceratopteris thalictroides, photographed by Kevin Faccenda
fig. a Kevin Faccenda, CC BY 4.0 / 2022-05-30 / obs. 203986879

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 69 botanical countries

Regions where Ceratopteris thalictroides is native: Angola, Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar, Mozambique, Somalia, Sudan-South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe, China North-Central, China South-Central, China Southeast, Hainan, Japan, Korea, Nansei-shoto, Taiwan, Andaman Is., Assam, Bangladesh, Bismarck Archipelago, Cambodia, East Himalaya, India, Laos, Lesser Sunda Is., Malaya, Myanmar, Nepal, Nicobar Is., Philippines, Solomon Is., Sri Lanka, Sulawesi, Sumatera, Thailand, Vietnam, West Himalaya, Northern Territory, Queensland, Western Australia, California, Florida, Louisiana, Mexico Gulf, Mexico Southwest, Mississippi, Texas, Caroline Is., Marianas, Brazil Northeast, Brazil Southeast, Brazil West-Central, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, French Guiana, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Jamaica, Nicaragua, Panamá, Puerto Rico, Suriname, Venezuela AngolaEthiopiaKenyaMadagascarMozambiqueSomaliaSudan-South SudanTanzaniaUgandaZambiaZimbabweChina North-CentralChina South-CentralChina SoutheastHainanJapanTaiwanAssamBangladeshBismarck ArchipelagoCambodiaEast HimalayaIndiaLaosLesser Sunda Is.MalayaMyanmarNepalPhilippinesSolomon Is.Sri LankaSulawesiSumateraThailandVietnamWest HimalayaNorthern TerritoryQueenslandWestern AustraliaCaliforniaFloridaLouisianaMexico GulfMexico SouthwestMississippiTexasBrazil NortheastBrazil SoutheastBrazil West-CentralColombiaCosta RicaEcuadorEl SalvadorFrench GuianaGuatemalaGuyanaHondurasJamaicaNicaraguaPanamáPuerto RicoSurinameVenezuela KoreaNansei-shotoAndaman Is.Nicobar Is.Caroline Is.Marianas
Native distribution of Ceratopteris thalictroides, 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
Andaman Is. AND ASIA-TROPICAL
Assam ASS
Bangladesh BAN
Bismarck Archipelago BIS
Cambodia CBD
East Himalaya EHM
India IND
Laos LAO
Lesser Sunda Is. LSI
Malaya MLY
Myanmar MYA
Nepal NEP
Nicobar Is. NCB
Philippines PHI
Solomon Is. SOL
Sri Lanka SRL
Sulawesi SUL
Sumatera SUM
Thailand THA
Vietnam VIE
West Himalaya WHM
Brazil Northeast BZE SOUTHERN AMERICA
Brazil Southeast BZL
Brazil West-Central BZC
Colombia CLM
Costa Rica COS
Ecuador ECU
El Salvador ELS
French Guiana FRG
Guatemala GUA
Guyana GUY
Honduras HON
Jamaica JAM
Nicaragua NIC
Panamá PAN
Puerto Rico PUE
Suriname SUR
Venezuela VEN
Angola ANG AFRICA
Ethiopia ETH
Kenya KEN
Madagascar MDG
Mozambique MOZ
Somalia SOM
Sudan-South Sudan SUD
Tanzania TAN
Uganda UGA
Zambia ZAM
Zimbabwe ZIM
China North-Central CHN ASIA-TEMPERATE
China South-Central CHC
China Southeast CHS
Hainan CHH
Japan JAP
Korea KOR
Nansei-shoto NNS
Taiwan TAI
California CAL NORTHERN AMERICA
Florida FLA
Louisiana LOU
Mexico Gulf MXG
Mexico Southwest MXS
Mississippi MSI
Texas TEX
Northern Territory NTA AUSTRALASIA
Queensland QLD
Western Australia WAU
Caroline Is. CRL PACIFIC
Marianas MRN

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 775 observations

Condition 5th percentile Median 95th percentile
Coldest month, mean daily low 8.0 °C 14.0 °C 23.9 °C
Warmest month, mean daily high 28.5 °C 30.3 °C 34.6 °C
Annual rainfall 1,001 mm 1,966 mm 3,597 mm
Rainfall in the driest quarter 37 mm 170 mm 584 mm

It is barely found anywhere that freezes. This is not care advice and it is not a forecast. It is a measurement: we sampled the climate at every one of the 775 research-grade observations of Ceratopteris thalictroides 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 19 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 siliquosum L.
  • Acrostichum thalictroides L.
  • Belvisia siliquosa (L.) Mirb.
  • Ceratopteris froesii Brade
  • Ceratopteris gaudichaudii Brongn.
  • Ceratopteris gaudichaudii var. vulgaris Masuyama & Watano
  • Ceratopteris richardi Brongn.
  • Ceratopteris siliquosa (L.) Copel.
  • Ceratopteris succulenta (Roxb.) Fraser-Jenk.
  • Cryptogenis ferulacea Rich.
  • Ellobocarpus oleraceus Kaulf.
  • Furcaria thalictroides (L.) Desv.
  • Naias obvoluta Blanco
  • Najas obvoluta Blanco
  • Pteris ferulacea Rich. ex Kaulf.
  • Pteris siliquosa Pal.
  • Pteris succulenta Roxb.
  • Pteris thalictroides (L.) Sw.
  • Teleozoma thalictroides (L.) R.Br. ex H.Richards

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.