Niphidium crassifolium(L.) Lellinger

graceful fern

WFO wfo-0001109179 Accepted WFO 2026-06 8 photographs CC BY / CC BY-SA

Plate 1 figs. a–h · 8 separate observations

Niphidium crassifolium, photographed by Donald Davesne
fig. a Donald Davesne, CC BY 4.0 / 2022-05-11 / obs. 199857848
Niphidium crassifolium, photographed by Letizia Weichgrebe
fig. b Letizia Weichgrebe, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 56221790
Niphidium crassifolium, photographed by cstobie
fig. c cstobie, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 34521442
Niphidium crassifolium, photographed by Letizia Weichgrebe
fig. d Letizia Weichgrebe, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 50517066
Niphidium crassifolium, photographed by Juan Carlos Pérez Magaña
fig. e Juan Carlos Pérez Magaña, CC BY-SA 4.0 / obs. 10141850
Niphidium crassifolium, photographed by Eugenio Padilla
fig. f Eugenio Padilla, CC BY-SA 4.0 / obs. 35951123
Niphidium crassifolium, photographed by Lena Struwe
fig. g Lena Struwe, CC BY-SA 4.0 / obs. 7660765
Niphidium crassifolium, photographed by Tony Rebelo
fig. h Tony Rebelo, CC BY-SA 4.0 / obs. 31087178

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 36 botanical countries

Regions where Niphidium crassifolium is native: Mexico Central, Mexico Gulf, Mexico Northeast, Mexico Southeast, Mexico Southwest, Argentina Northeast, Argentina Northwest, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil North, Brazil Northeast, Brazil South, Brazil Southeast, Brazil West-Central, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, French Guiana, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Leeward Is., Nicaragua, Panamá, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, Suriname, Trinidad-Tobago, Venezuela, Windward Is. Mexico CentralMexico GulfMexico NortheastMexico SoutheastMexico SouthwestArgentina NortheastArgentina NorthwestBelizeBoliviaBrazil NorthBrazil NortheastBrazil SouthBrazil SoutheastBrazil West-CentralColombiaCosta RicaCubaDominican RepublicEcuadorEl SalvadorFrench GuianaGuatemalaGuyanaHaitiHondurasJamaicaNicaraguaPanamáParaguayPeruPuerto RicoSurinameTrinidad-TobagoVenezuela Leeward Is.Windward Is.
Native distribution of Niphidium crassifolium, 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
Argentina Northeast AGE SOUTHERN AMERICA
Argentina Northwest AGW
Belize BLZ
Bolivia BOL
Brazil North BZN
Brazil Northeast BZE
Brazil South BZS
Brazil Southeast BZL
Brazil West-Central BZC
Colombia CLM
Costa Rica COS
Cuba CUB
Dominican Republic DOM
Ecuador ECU
El Salvador ELS
French Guiana FRG
Guatemala GUA
Guyana GUY
Haiti HAI
Honduras HON
Jamaica JAM
Leeward Is. LEE
Nicaragua NIC
Panamá PAN
Paraguay PAR
Peru PER
Puerto Rico PUE
Suriname SUR
Trinidad-Tobago TRT
Venezuela VEN
Windward Is. WIN
Mexico Central MXC NORTHERN AMERICA
Mexico Gulf MXG
Mexico Northeast MXE
Mexico Southeast MXT
Mexico Southwest MXS

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 18 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.

  • Anaxetum crassifolium (L.) Schott
  • Campyloneurum crassifolium (L.) Christenh.
  • Dipteris crassifolia J.Sm.
  • Drynaria crassifolia J.Sm.
  • Pessopteris crassifolia Underw. & Maxon
  • Pessopteris crassifolia var. angusta Farw.
  • Phymatodes acrosora C.Presl
  • Phymatodes crassifolia C.Presl
  • Phymatodes porrecta C.Presl
  • Pleopeltis crassifolia T.Moore
  • Pleuridium angustum Fée
  • Pleuridium crassifolium Fée
  • Polypodium brasiliense f. giganteum Domin
  • Polypodium coriaceum Raddi
  • Polypodium crassifolium Sessé & Moc.
  • Polypodium giganteum Desv.
  • Polypodium porrectum Willd.
  • Serpocaulon giganteum (Desv.) A.R.Sm.

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.