Ridley’s Staghorn Fern

Photo credit: Arthur Ng

The Ridley’s Staghorn Fern (Platycerium ridleyi) was named after the first director of the Singapore Botanic Gardens, Sir Henry Nicholas Ridley, who discovered the plant in Bukit Timah Forest. Unlike other species of its kind, it produces distinct upright forked leaves, which resemble a deer’s antlers! The fern can be found mounted onto tree branches or the trunk and its leaves are usually used as nesting areas for ants in the wild.