Odontosoria chinensis(L.) J.Sm.

Chinese creepingfern

WFO wfo-0001115010 Accepted WFO 2026-06 8 photographs CC0 / CC BY

Plate 1 figs. a–h · 8 separate observations

Odontosoria chinensis, photographed by Kevin Faccenda
fig. a Kevin Faccenda, CC BY 4.0 / 2022-02-28 / obs. 182525840
Odontosoria chinensis, photographed by Kevin Faccenda
fig. b Kevin Faccenda, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 180749468
Odontosoria chinensis, photographed by Kevin Faccenda
fig. c Kevin Faccenda, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 180748830
Odontosoria chinensis, photographed by Kevin Faccenda
fig. d Kevin Faccenda, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 180751468
Odontosoria chinensis, photographed by Kevin Faccenda
fig. e Kevin Faccenda, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 177513572
Odontosoria chinensis, photographed by Kevin Faccenda
fig. f Kevin Faccenda, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 173169792
Odontosoria chinensis, photographed by rockybajada
fig. g rockybajada, CC0 1.0 / obs. 172626950
Odontosoria chinensis, photographed by Sophia Lee
fig. h Sophia Lee, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 170509461

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 44 botanical countries

Regions where Odontosoria chinensis is native: Comoros, Mauritius, Réunion, China South-Central, China Southeast, Hainan, Japan, Kazan-retto, Korea, Nansei-shoto, Ogasawara-shoto, Taiwan, Tibet, Assam, Bangladesh, Borneo, East Himalaya, India, Laos, Lesser Sunda Is., Malaya, Maluku, Myanmar, Nepal, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Sulawesi, Sumatera, Thailand, Vietnam, West Himalaya, Caroline Is., Cook Is., Fiji, Hawaii, Marquesas, New Caledonia, Samoa, Santa Cruz Is., Society Is., Tonga, Tubuai Is., Vanuatu, Wallis-Futuna Is. China South-CentralChina SoutheastHainanJapanTaiwanTibetAssamBangladeshBorneoEast HimalayaIndiaLaosLesser Sunda Is.MalayaMalukuMyanmarNepalPhilippinesSri LankaSulawesiSumateraThailandVietnamWest HimalayaFijiHawaiiNew Caledonia ComorosMauritiusRéunionKoreaNansei-shotoCaroline Is.Cook Is.MarquesasSamoaSociety Is.TongaTubuai Is.VanuatuWallis-Futuna Is.
Native distribution of Odontosoria chinensis, 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
Assam ASS ASIA-TROPICAL
Bangladesh BAN
Borneo BOR
East Himalaya EHM
India IND
Laos LAO
Lesser Sunda Is. LSI
Malaya MLY
Maluku MOL
Myanmar MYA
Nepal NEP
Philippines PHI
Sri Lanka SRL
Sulawesi SUL
Sumatera SUM
Thailand THA
Vietnam VIE
West Himalaya WHM
Caroline Is. CRL PACIFIC
Cook Is. COO
Fiji FIJ
Hawaii HAW
Marquesas MRQ
New Caledonia NWC
Samoa SAM
Santa Cruz Is. SCZ
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
Japan JAP
Kazan-retto KZN
Korea KOR
Nansei-shoto NNS
Ogasawara-shoto OGA
Taiwan TAI
Tibet CHT
Comoros COM AFRICA
Mauritius MAU
Réunion REU

Not drawn on the map: Kazan-retto, Ogasawara-shoto, Santa Cruz Is.. We hold no public-domain boundary for these regions, so they are listed rather than guessed at.

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 48 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.

  • Adiantum chinense (L.) Burm.f.
  • Adiantum chusanum L.
  • Adiantum tenuifolium Lam.
  • Bierhorstia chinensis (L.) Barcelona & Hickey
  • Davallia chinensis (L.) Sm.
  • Davallia chinensis (L.) C.B.Clarke
  • Davallia chusana (L.) Willd.
  • Davallia cuneiformis (G.Forst.) Sw.
  • Davallia didyma Hedw.
  • Davallia ferruginea Cav.
  • Davallia microcarpa Sm.
  • Davallia polysperma Steud.
  • Davallia remota Kaulf.
  • Davallia tenuifolia (Lam.) Sw.
  • Davallia tenuifolia unranked veitchiana Pynaert
  • Davallia tenuifolia unranked veitchii Pynaert
  • Davallia tenuifolia var. chinensis (L.) T.Moore
  • Davallia venusta Schkuhr
  • Hymenophyllum ramosissimum Ham.; Don
  • Lindsaea chinensis (L.) Mett.
  • Lindsaea chinensis (L.) A.Braun & C.D.Bouché
  • Lindsaea tenuifolia (Lam.) Mett.
  • Microlepia chinensis Mett.
  • Microlepia tenuifolia (Lam.) Mett.

and 24 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.