Platycerium Wandae

Platycerium wandae

Many lobes per fertile frond, one spore patch per lobe.
One lobe is small and elevated, one s large and hanging down.

P. wandae is one of the 5 large platyceriums that include P. supebum, P. grande. P. wallichii & P. hulttumii. P. wandae is considered the largest staghorn. It is distinct by its size and it grows about 30 percent larger than a P. superbum. However there is a giant P. sup[erbum at the Huntington Library in Arcadia. The P. wandae shield fronds are very upright and lobed along the top. They form a basket. The fertile fronds are like those of a P. holttumii, with two lobes, the smaller one is elevated. Each lobe has a brown spore patch. Since the P. wandae and the P. holttumii are so similar, it begs the question which one is larger?

Comparison of; P. grande, P. superbum, P. holttumii, P. wandae, P. wallichii
Species	P. grande	P. superbum	P. holttumii	P. wallichii	P. wandae
Common Name	Grande	Superbum	Holttumii	Indian Staghorn	Queen Staghorn
Temp Range	40 to 100 F	30 to 100 F	60 to 100 F *	60 to 100 F *	60 to 100 F *
Number of fertile fronds with lobes	Many, divided	Many, not divided	Many with 2 lobes 1 elevated, 1 hanging down	Many with only 2 lobes	Many with 2 lobes 1 elevated, 1 hanging down
No. Spore Patches	Two per Lobe	One per lobe	One per lobe	One per lobe	One per lobe
Spore Patch shape	Equal size	Oval/triangular	1 small elevated 1 large hanging down	1 small elevated 1 large hanging down	1 small elevated 1 large hanging down
Frill around bud	No	Yes	No	No	Yes
Volunteer Pups	No	No	No	Very rare**	No
Native to:	Philippines	Australia	SE Asia	SE Asia	New Guinea
Growing environment	50% shade cloth	50% shade cloth	Greenhouse	Greenhouse	50% shade cloth

* Unconfirmed data. The one known P. wandae growing in Southern California is in a greenhouse and has been thriving for 30 or more years. I just obtained a P. holttumii from Louisiana and it is still a young plant. Next winter will be a test of how it survives in my greenhouse. Sorry to say it did not make it and it is in the platycerium grave yard.

** Roy Vail reports that the 1997 International Fern Show in Los Angles had a mature P. wallichii

The photo on the right illustrates how vertical the shield fronds grow. This is a young P. wandae, but the vertical characteristic is well displayed. It looks like the fertile fronds have are just strting to form.

Roy Vail reports that the P. wandae grows fertile fronds at a younger age than any of the other giant platyceriums.

On the left you can observe the frills that grow around the growth bud. Click on photo for a larger image. The photos left and right were taken at Gardens By The Bay, Singapore, 2019.

P. wandae likes temperatures between 60 F and 100 F. It will tolerate cold temperatures for a short period, but damage will occur below 40 F. Like the P. superbum, it likes bright filtered shade, mort than most other platyceriums but should be grown in a greenhouse to keep the humidity high and eliminate extreme temperatures.

This left photo is the best photo I have seen showing how there are two lobes with spore patches. The main spore patch is lower with long fronds hanging down. The smaller one is elevated above the larger and has shorter fronds hanging down. You can click on the photo to see a larger image.

Photo from Platycerium Shop via Facebook

The right lower photo also shows two spore patches, however they are old and have turned brown. Notice how they are on top of each other.

Photo is from Chien Lee via Facebook

This photo on the left is from Don Callard's collection in San Diego. It is a P. superbum with 2 fertile fronds with on spore patch on each frond. What makes this interesting is the shield frond is that of a P. wandae. It is not known if this is a cultivar of P. superbum, a hybrid of wandae x superbum, or possibly something else. Click on photo for a larger image.

Photo from Facebook.

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