staghorn ferns @ canopy walk, kent ridge park





these days, if you are at the canopy walk, you will come across a lot of staghorn ferns. they have been physically attached to the trees by the park people. you can see the thin, colour wires which they used to tie the plants to the trunks of the trees.

staghorn ferns are epiphytic perennials or 'air' plants. they can be found high in tall trees attached to, but not growing 'in' the bark. staghorn ferns do not need or use soil. they get their nutrition substantially from the air. stags are in the same class as orchids, which also grow on trees with no soil.

the staghorn fern has two types of fronds. the sterile fronds, located near the base of the plant, are round and flat. they begin pale green but turn brown and papery with age. the fertile fronds are also pale green. they are the fronds that look like a stag's horns, and they hang down from the plant. on the tips of the fertile fronds are the brown masses of spores.

bright light but no direct sun is ideal for stags. stags do not like windy conditions.

(when i took the pics, i was not close enough because i have this fear of height - acrophobia.)