bird's nest ferns

Several bird's nest ferns on the same and adjacent trees. The habit of this fern is epiphytic here but it can be terrestrial. It typically grows on organic matter. This fern often lives in trees like a bromeliad, where it collects water and humus in its leaf-rosette. It thrives in warm, humid areas in partial to full shade.

Asplenium nidus is native to east tropical Africa (in Tanzania, inclusive of the Zanzibar Archipelago); temperate and tropical Asia (in Indonesia; the prefecture of Kyushu, and the Ryukyu Islands of Japan; Malaysia; the Philippines; Taiwan; and Thailand); and in Australasia (in the northern part of the state of Queensland in Australia, and New Guinea).

Plants named Asplenium nidus are commonly sold as house plants, though most of the specimens in the horticultural trade are not A. nidus, but different, but closely related species.