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The natural habitat and structure of this plant combine to make it something of a mystery. Its range must be very warm and humid. The leaves of mangroves are large and could shade P. ellisii greatly. The fertile fronds of P.ellisii are wide, and require some shading. They also have waxy coating, which should help them retain water, but the thin shields and the large air spaces between them limit the whole plant's ability to store water. This combination gives a plant which does not lose much water through its fertile fronds, but does not store water well in its shields.
This unusual plant requires some unusual care. The rhizome of P.ellisii grows upward quickly. Its roots are very shallow and nearly all just below the bud. When the newest shields do not fully cover the older ones, the plant has advanced to where it probably has few roots in the moss. It should be removed and trimmed so the bud is again in the center of the mounting. Moss should be packed around the rhizome and into the spaces between the shields, which means some of the shields will have to be dug away. When packed with moss, and kept in a moist, warm, and bright location, P.ellisii pups freely in mid-summer. Lack of pup formation is an indication a trim is needed. Trims may be necessary as often as once a year. Due to its shallow roots.
There are reported to be three forms of P.ellisii the standard form, one that grows little divisions at the tips of the fertile fronds and has been called "diversifolium," and a wide leaf form which can have fertile fronds 20 cm (8 inches) across, and 86 cm (34 inches) long. |
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Platycepium ellisii (el-LEE-see-eye) |
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Platycepium ellisii is very closely related to the African form of P.alcicorne. They have the same yellow-green color, waxy coating, and they both tend to grow round shield fronds in the spring and early summer, and fertile fronds during the late summer and fall. In the fall their shield fronds begin turning a very dark brown near the center. The color change moves gradually to the edge. The fertile fronds of P. ellisii are different from the African P.alcicorne in consistantly being wide and divided into only two points near their tips.
The range of P.ellisii is restricted to Madagascar, whereas P.alcicorne is from both Africa and Madagascar. The person who introduced P.ellisii into the xml:namespace prefix = st1 />xml:namespace prefix = st1 />xml:namespace prefix = st1 />U.S. has collected them off mangroves at sea level along the central east coast of Madagascar. Many of the mangrove stems they grew on were only 1.5 cm. (0.5 inch) thick, and the shield fronds often had spaces 2.5 cm. (1 inch) wide behind them. The function of the spaces is unknown. |
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Distribution of P. ellisii on Madagascar. |  |
| In picture it Platycerium ellisii 3 form at the left P.ellisii Wide form the center P.ellisii standard form and at the right P.ellisii Long form (it mutate in Thailand) | |
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