Pteris biauritaL.

thinleaf brake

WFO wfo-0001107405 Accepted WFO 2026-06 8 photographs CC BY / CC BY-SA

Plate 1 figs. a–h · 8 separate observations

Pteris biaurita, photographed by Jacy Chen
fig. a Jacy Chen, CC BY 4.0 / 2022-01-30 / obs. 179700693

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 66 botanical countries

Regions where Pteris biaurita is native: Comoros, Gulf of Guinea Is., China South-Central, China Southeast, Hainan, Taiwan, Tibet, Andaman Is., Assam, Bangladesh, Bismarck Archipelago, Borneo, Cambodia, East Himalaya, India, Laos, Lesser Sunda Is., Malaya, Maluku, Myanmar, Nepal, Philippines, Solomon Is., Sri Lanka, Sulawesi, Sumatera, Thailand, Vietnam, West Himalaya, Queensland, Mexico Gulf, Mexico Southeast, Mexico Southwest, Caroline Is., Fiji, Marianas, Samoa, Tonga, Vanuatu, Wallis-Futuna Is., Belize, Brazil North, Brazil Northeast, Brazil South, Brazil Southeast, Brazil West-Central, Central American Pacific Is., Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Ecuador, El Salvador, French Guiana, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Jamaica, Leeward Is., Nicaragua, Panamá, Peru, Puerto Rico, Suriname, Venezuela, Venezuelan Antilles, Windward Is. Gulf of Guinea Is.China South-CentralChina SoutheastHainanTaiwanTibetAssamBangladeshBismarck ArchipelagoBorneoCambodiaEast HimalayaIndiaLaosLesser Sunda Is.MalayaMalukuMyanmarNepalPhilippinesSolomon Is.Sri LankaSulawesiSumateraThailandVietnamWest HimalayaQueenslandMexico GulfMexico SoutheastMexico SouthwestFijiBelizeBrazil NorthBrazil NortheastBrazil SouthBrazil SoutheastBrazil West-CentralCentral American Pacific Is.ColombiaCosta RicaCubaEcuadorEl SalvadorFrench GuianaGuatemalaGuyanaHondurasJamaicaNicaraguaPanamáPeruPuerto RicoSurinameVenezuela ComorosAndaman Is.Caroline Is.MarianasSamoaTongaVanuatuWallis-Futuna Is.Leeward Is.Venezuelan AntillesWindward Is.
Native distribution of Pteris biaurita, 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
Belize BLZ SOUTHERN AMERICA
Brazil North BZN
Brazil Northeast BZE
Brazil South BZS
Brazil Southeast BZL
Brazil West-Central BZC
Central American Pacific Is. CPI
Colombia CLM
Costa Rica COS
Cuba CUB
Ecuador ECU
El Salvador ELS
French Guiana FRG
Guatemala GUA
Guyana GUY
Honduras HON
Jamaica JAM
Leeward Is. LEE
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
East Himalaya EHM
India IND
Laos LAO
Lesser Sunda Is. LSI
Malaya MLY
Maluku MOL
Myanmar MYA
Nepal NEP
Philippines PHI
Solomon Is. SOL
Sri Lanka SRL
Sulawesi SUL
Sumatera SUM
Thailand THA
Vietnam VIE
West Himalaya WHM
Caroline Is. CRL PACIFIC
Fiji FIJ
Marianas MRN
Samoa SAM
Tonga TON
Vanuatu VAN
Wallis-Futuna Is. WAL
China South-Central CHC ASIA-TEMPERATE
China Southeast CHS
Hainan CHH
Taiwan TAI
Tibet CHT
Mexico Gulf MXG NORTHERN AMERICA
Mexico Southeast MXT
Mexico Southwest MXS
Comoros COM AFRICA
Gulf of Guinea Is. GGI
Queensland QLD AUSTRALASIA

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 363 observations

Condition 5th percentile Median 95th percentile
Coldest month, mean daily low 7.1 °C 10.6 °C 21.7 °C
Warmest month, mean daily high 23.4 °C 27.1 °C 31.8 °C
Annual rainfall 1,461 mm 3,235 mm 4,307 mm
Rainfall in the driest quarter 43 mm 167 mm 273 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 363 research-grade observations of Pteris biaurita 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 22 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.

  • Campteria biaurita (L.) Hook.
  • Campteria biaurita var. major Bedd.
  • Campteria rottleriana C.Presl
  • Campteria wightiana C.Presl
  • Litobrochia biaurita (L.) J.Sm.
  • Litobrochia rottleriana Fée
  • Litobrochia wallichiana C.Presl
  • Pteris allosora Link
  • Pteris biauriculata L.
  • Pteris biaurita var. krugii Urb.
  • Pteris biaurita var. pungens Krug
  • Pteris biaurita var. subpinnatifida Jenman
  • Pteris candifera Zoll.
  • Pteris caudata Zoll. & Moritzi
  • Pteris caudiformis Moritz
  • Pteris cumingii Hieron.
  • Pteris flavicaulis Hayata
  • Pteris pacifica var. eximia (Rech.) C.Chr.
  • Pteris pectinata D.Don
  • Pteris quadriaurita var. biaurita (L.) J.Bommer & Christ
  • Pteris quadriaurita var. biaurita (L.) J.Bommer & Christ
  • Pteris quadriaurita var. eximia Rech.

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.