Platycerium Common name: Elkhorn,                         Staghorn	Indicates sun requirement      Full sun      Half sun      Semi-shade      Shade   Indicates Water requirement         High water requirement.     Water every 1-2 days.          Medium water requirement.     Water every 3-7 days.          Low water requirement.     Water every 7-14 days.
Description Native to the sub-tropics and tropics of Africa, Asia and Australia these ferns are decidedly exotic and unusual plants. The structure of their fronds varies, and the non-fertile backing leaves help with the job of attaching the fern to its host. Platycerium bifurcatum (Elkhorn) The long fronds are forked twice and have a slight resemblance to antlers. Found in rainforests of eastern Australia this hardy species grows on tree trunks and occasionally attached to damp rock. Platycerium superbum (Staghorn) Slow growing and similar in its penchant to clinging to trunks of trees, but more upright in growth, its fronds spread fan-like. A much larger species than the elkhorn.
Growing Keep them moist, away from the wind and excessive sun and fertilise with liquid plant food occasionally. Elkhorns have spore-bearing fronds and also produce small plants, on branching rhizome extensions, on the outer margins of their nest leaves. These plantlets can be removed when three or four spore-bearing fronds have formed. Cut them out, including some of the backing material from the parent plant, and place them on top of a damp (not wet) soil mix containing a high concentration of peat and new fronds will form. Young plants can then be attached to boards or tree trunk pieces in a protected spot and fed with peat and moisture. When established they can be placed in permanent positions. Elkhorns will survive and grow well with minimum care. In cultivation they are often mounted on wooden blocks or planted as an edging in large baskets and will also thrive if attached to tree ferns or trunks of established trees in a protected position. Staghorns also have branching rhizomes and fine roots. Its large backing fronds turn inward when mature to hold the material collected and gradually decompose into peat-like material providing nutrients for the ferns growth. Unlike the Elkhorn no small plantlets are produced and propagation has to be from spores, which, when ready for transplanting, require the utmost care.