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Unknown bog plant ID

I use premium peat moss for years, never had something else growing in my pots but this year i have a lil plant growing in my peat. Probably a seed the company failed to remove from the peatmoss.

Now all the pot is colonized. The leaves are not delicate, they are like plastic, quite hard to bent without broking em. The way it grow is also interesting. At the beginning its just a sterm with a green ball on the top. After a while the ball explode and the final morphology is shown.

daf28e4071b3ba2b2265da32f35896b5.jpg

c33ae345629905812607a3ef3623d691.jpg



(sorry for the bad pictures, its deep in my terrarium.)
Anyone can ID this plant?
 
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Looks like some sort of fern but I am not sure
 
My very first Nepenthes came with one of these growing in the pot. It's definitely a fern of some sort but I've never been able to figure out which species.
 
thx guys. Its a nice miniature fern, i think i will keep growing it with my HL plants :)

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Apparently back in Victorian times they used to plant maidenhair ferns in Nepenthes pots since they help prevent the soil from going "sour" and also supposedly promote root growth in the Nepenthes.
 
There you go, Nim's ID'd it as a Maiden Hair Fern.:-O
 
Apparently back in Victorian times they used to plant maidenhair ferns in Nepenthes pots since they help prevent the soil from going "sour" and also supposedly promote root growth in the Nepenthes.

Wow I didnt know that. I was just about to start posting the hundreds of photos Ive taken of these things.
I seem to have a higher chance of sprouting ferns because for some reason, I
get a TON of them from spore. Got a fern from peat moss about 12 years ago (Not the species this thread is about), and sometimes
my established nepenthes pots randomly sprouts the maindhair.

MY most recent batch of sphagnum has sprouted three of the ferns in question.
They are getting HUGE and darkening the sky above my seedlings.
I was extremely considering killing them, but I guess if they help nepenthes...
why not.
I
 
I don't think it's actually that specific species. The leaf appearance doesn't look nearly close enough to me. This is what I have:

Mystery fern by Nimbulan, on Flickr
 
  • #10
Yours is a different species, Nim, though what one I cannot say for sure. Considering that fern spores are also easily windborne, it's not terribly surprising to have one pop up unexpectedly in a moist potting media. Once in a favorable environment, ferns often run rampant. There is one in my 90 gal terr I need to rip out and downsize as it has broken free of its containment and, if left unchecked, will take over the entire tank.

 
  • #11
nimbulan, thx for sharing. Im dals09 on flickr, i think you have a new followr :)

After reading you guys, i think im not the only one with random sprouting ferns. The one i grow is very tiny, but i guess its still a seedling.

Im looking since years for a nice lil plants to grow with my helis.
I think i found it :) Varun sent me another one from his collection. I will keep em both :)

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  • #12
Here are some photos from my tank.
I tried finding some pictures of when they were younger because they looked
almost exactly like yours. But now they are a little more mature and grown out..

qvcuulzh.jpg




A little closer


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And in this photo is a leaf of the fern that once sprouted from a 30 gallon terrarium
filled with peat moss, and established 12 years.

WGnJnlRh.jpg
 
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  • #14
thx fred, im very lucky to have you. You are like a light in the dark :)

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  • #15
nemjones nice pictures. yeah its very similar :)

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  • #16
At the beginning its just a sterm with a green ball on the top. After a while the ball explode and the final morphology is shown

The leaf at that stage is sometimes referred to as a "fiddlehead". Particularly with the large terrestrial ferns, the resemblance to the head of a fiddle is much more noticeable. :)
 
  • #17
Ah thanks. I never saw that kind of growing. I only grow cps, hot pepper plants and some lithops :)

Thx for your input !

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