Nephrolepis biserrata(Sw.) Schott

giant swordfern

WFO wfo-0001107369 Accepted WFO 2026-06 8 photographs CC BY / CC BY-SA

Plate 1 figs. a–h · 8 separate observations

Nephrolepis biserrata, photographed by chiuluan
fig. a chiuluan, CC BY 4.0 / 2022-03-09 / obs. 182198251

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.

The specimen a real sheet, in a real collection

Herbarium
The New York Botanical Garden
Accession
03350090
Filed as
Nephrolepis biserrata (Sw.) Schott
Det. by
R. C. Moran 2018-08-01
Collected
E. Hammond 1995-01-28
Origin
ID
The sheet
View the digitised specimen (CC BY 4.0)

A real pressed plant, in a real collection, under the accession number above. Not an illustration of one. The holding institution does not serve this sheet’s image to third parties, so there is no photograph here. The record is real and the link goes to it. Where we hold no openly licensed sheet for a species this section is simply absent, and where a sheet never recorded who determined it, that field stays empty rather than being filled in. Roughly half of all herbarium sheets never recorded a determiner, which is ordinary.

Native range 116 botanical countries

Regions where Nephrolepis biserrata is native: Angola, Burkina, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Comoros, DR Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Gulf of Guinea Is., Ivory Coast, Kenya, KwaZulu-Natal, Liberia, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mozambique, Nigeria, Northern Provinces, Réunion, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Sudan-South Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe, China South-Central, China Southeast, Hainan, Nansei-shoto, Taiwan, Andaman Is., Assam, Bangladesh, Bismarck Archipelago, Borneo, Cambodia, Christmas I., East Himalaya, India, Jawa, Laos, Lesser Sunda Is., Malaya, Myanmar, New Guinea, Nicobar Is., Philippines, Solomon Is., South China Sea, Sri Lanka, Sulawesi, Sumatera, Thailand, Vietnam, Northern Territory, Queensland, Western Australia, Florida, Louisiana, Mexico Central, Mexico Gulf, Mexico Northeast, Mexico Southeast, Mexico Southwest, Caroline Is., Cook Is., Fiji, Marianas, Marquesas, Marshall Is., New Caledonia, Niue, Pitcairn Is., Samoa, Society Is., Tonga, Tuamotu, Tubuai Is., Vanuatu, Argentina Northeast, Bolivia, Brazil North, Brazil Northeast, Brazil South, Brazil Southeast, Brazil West-Central, Cayman Is., Central American Pacific Is., Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, French Guiana, Galápagos, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Jamaica, Leeward Is., Netherlands Antilles, Nicaragua, Panamá, Peru, Puerto Rico, Suriname, Venezuela, Venezuelan Antilles, Windward Is. AngolaBurkinaCameroonCentral African RepublicDR CongoEquatorial GuineaEthiopiaGabonGhanaGuineaGulf of Guinea Is.Ivory CoastKenyaKwaZulu-NatalLiberiaMadagascarMozambiqueNigeriaNorthern ProvincesSenegalSierra LeoneSudan-South SudanTanzaniaTogoUgandaZambiaZimbabweChina South-CentralChina SoutheastHainanTaiwanAssamBangladeshBismarck ArchipelagoBorneoCambodiaEast HimalayaIndiaJawaLaosLesser Sunda Is.MalayaMyanmarNew GuineaPhilippinesSolomon Is.Sri LankaSulawesiSumateraThailandVietnamNorthern TerritoryQueenslandWestern AustraliaFloridaLouisianaMexico CentralMexico GulfMexico NortheastMexico SoutheastMexico SouthwestFijiNew CaledoniaArgentina NortheastBoliviaBrazil NorthBrazil NortheastBrazil SouthBrazil SoutheastBrazil West-CentralCentral American Pacific Is.ColombiaCosta RicaCubaDominican RepublicEcuadorEl SalvadorFrench GuianaGuatemalaGuyanaHondurasJamaicaNicaraguaPanamáPeruPuerto RicoSurinameVenezuela ComorosMauritiusRéunionSeychellesNansei-shotoAndaman Is.Christmas I.Nicobar Is.South China SeaCaroline Is.Cook Is.MarianasMarquesasMarshall Is.NiuePitcairn Is.SamoaSociety Is.TongaTuamotuTubuai Is.VanuatuCayman Is.GalápagosLeeward Is.Netherlands AntillesVenezuelan AntillesWindward Is.
Native distribution of Nephrolepis biserrata, 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
Burkina BKN
Cameroon CMN
Central African Republic CAF
Comoros COM
DR Congo ZAI
Equatorial Guinea EQG
Ethiopia ETH
Gabon GAB
Ghana GHA
Guinea GUI
Gulf of Guinea Is. GGI
Ivory Coast IVO
Kenya KEN
KwaZulu-Natal NAT
Liberia LBR
Madagascar MDG
Mauritius MAU
Mozambique MOZ
Nigeria NGA
Northern Provinces TVL
Réunion REU
Senegal SEN
Seychelles SEY
Sierra Leone SIE
Sudan-South Sudan SUD
Tanzania TAN
Togo TOG
Uganda UGA
Zambia ZAM
Zimbabwe ZIM
Argentina Northeast AGE SOUTHERN AMERICA
Bolivia BOL
Brazil North BZN
Brazil Northeast BZE
Brazil South BZS
Brazil Southeast BZL
Brazil West-Central BZC
Cayman Is. CAY
Central American Pacific Is. CPI
Colombia CLM
Costa Rica COS
Cuba CUB
Dominican Republic DOM
Ecuador ECU
El Salvador ELS
French Guiana FRG
Galápagos GAL
Guatemala GUA
Guyana GUY
Honduras HON
Jamaica JAM
Leeward Is. LEE
Netherlands Antilles NLA
Nicaragua NIC
Panamá PAN
Peru PER
Puerto Rico PUE
Suriname SUR
Venezuela VEN
Venezuelan Antilles VNA
Windward Is. WIN
Andaman Is. AND ASIA-TROPICAL
Assam ASS
Bangladesh BAN
Bismarck Archipelago BIS
Borneo BOR
Cambodia CBD
Christmas I. XMS
East Himalaya EHM
India IND
Jawa JAW
Laos LAO
Lesser Sunda Is. LSI
Malaya MLY
Myanmar MYA
New Guinea NWG
Nicobar Is. NCB
Philippines PHI
Solomon Is. SOL
South China Sea SCS
Sri Lanka SRL
Sulawesi SUL
Sumatera SUM
Thailand THA
Vietnam VIE
Caroline Is. CRL PACIFIC
Cook Is. COO
Fiji FIJ
Marianas MRN
Marquesas MRQ
Marshall Is. MRS
New Caledonia NWC
Niue NUE
Pitcairn Is. PIT
Samoa SAM
Society Is. SCI
Tonga TON
Tuamotu TUA
Tubuai Is. TUB
Vanuatu VAN
Florida FLA NORTHERN AMERICA
Louisiana LOU
Mexico Central MXC
Mexico Gulf MXG
Mexico Northeast MXE
Mexico Southeast MXT
Mexico Southwest MXS
China South-Central CHC ASIA-TEMPERATE
China Southeast CHS
Hainan CHH
Nansei-shoto NNS
Taiwan TAI
Northern Territory NTA AUSTRALASIA
Queensland QLD
Western Australia WAU

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 1,523 observations

Condition 5th percentile Median 95th percentile
Coldest month, mean daily low 10.4 °C 13.8 °C 23.1 °C
Warmest month, mean daily high 26.5 °C 29.6 °C 31.2 °C
Annual rainfall 1,324 mm 3,098 mm 4,705 mm
Rainfall in the driest quarter 100 mm 498 mm 799 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 1,523 research-grade observations of Nephrolepis biserrata 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 101 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.

  • Aspidium acuminatum Willd.
  • Aspidium acutum Schkuhr
  • Aspidium articulatum Sieber
  • Aspidium bidentatum (C.Presl) Spreng.
  • Aspidium biserratum Sw.
  • Aspidium biserratum var. paraense Farw.
  • Aspidium ensifolium Schkuhr
  • Aspidium exaltatum var. longipinna Benth.
  • Aspidium gibbosum Willd.
  • Aspidium guineense Schumach.
  • Aspidium hoffmannseggii Poir.
  • Aspidium hoffmenseggii Poir.
  • Aspidium mauritianum Desv.
  • Aspidium nigropunctatum Spreng.
  • Aspidium paludosum Raddi
  • Aspidium paraense Willd.
  • Aspidium punctulatum (Poir.) Sw.
  • Aspidium rufescens (Schrad.) Kunze
  • Aspidium splendens Willd.
  • Hypopeltis amygdalina Bory
  • Hypopeltis biserrata (Sw.) Bory
  • Hypopeltis palmoides Bory
  • Lastrea bidentata T.Moore
  • Lepidoneuron acuminatum (Willd.) Fée

and 77 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.