Rabbits Foot Fern Identification Guide
Identify the Rabbit's Foot Fern (Davallia) by the furry, creeping rhizomes that spill over the pot rim and its lacy, finely divided fronds.
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Key Identifying Features
The Rabbit's Foot Fern (Davallia species, often D. fejeensis) is named for the soft, furry, light-brown rhizomes that creep over the soil and dangle over the pot rim, looking exactly like little rabbit's feet or paws. Combined with delicate, lacy, finely divided fronds, this makes it unmistakable.
- Fuzzy, silvery-brown creeping rhizomes spilling over the pot edge
- Airy, finely cut (multi-pinnate) fronds, bright green
- Triangular overall frond outline
- Epiphytic, mat-forming habit
Leaves & Stems
The fronds are 20–45 cm long, triangular, and divided two to four times into many tiny leaflets, giving a feathery, almost carrot-top or parsley-like texture. They are mid- to bright green, thin and slightly glossy, held on wiry dark stalks. The standout feature is the rhizome: a creeping, surface-running stem covered in dense, pale-brown to silvery scales (the "fur"), 6–10 mm thick, that grows over the soil and cascades down the sides of the pot. These rhizomes store water and sprout new fronds along their length.
Flowers & Fruit
As a fern, it produces no flowers or seeds. Reproduction is by spores held in small sori on the undersides of the leaflets, near the margins. Presence of spore dots plus the lack of flowers confirms it is a true fern.
How to Tell It Apart from Look-Alikes
- vs. Boston Fern (Nephrolepis): Boston fern has long, once-divided arching fronds and lacks the furry surface rhizomes
- vs. Maidenhair Fern (Adiantum): maidenhair has fan-shaped leaflets on black wiry stems and no fuzzy creeping feet
- vs. Squirrel's Foot Fern (Davallia mariesii) and Bear's/Deer's Foot ferns: these are closely related Davallia/Humata species with the same furry-foot trait; exact species ID comes from rhizome color and frond size, but all share the rabbit-foot look
- vs. Asparagus Fern: not a true fern; has needle-like cladodes and berries
Where You'll Find It
Almost always a houseplant or hanging-basket specimen, prized for the decorative furry rhizomes. Native to Fiji and the tropical Pacific/Asia, where it grows as an epiphyte on tree trunks and rocks in humid forest.
Quick ID Checklist
- Furry, pale-brown rhizomes creeping over the pot
- Lacy, finely divided triangular fronds
- Bright-green, thin, feathery leaflets
- Spore dots (sori) under leaflets, no flowers
- Grown in a basket so the 'feet' can dangle
Frequently asked questions
What are the furry things crawling over the pot?
Those are the fern's rhizomes — surface-running stems covered in soft pale scales. They look like rabbit's feet and are the plant's signature feature. Don't bury or cut them.
How is it different from a Boston Fern?
Boston Fern has long, once-divided arching fronds and grows from the crown without furry surface rhizomes. The Rabbit's Foot Fern has lacy fronds plus the fuzzy creeping feet.
Does the Rabbit's Foot Fern flower?
No. Like all true ferns it reproduces by spores held in small dots (sori) on the undersides of the leaflets, never by flowers or seeds.
Is the furry rhizome a root I should plant in soil?
No. The rhizomes are meant to grow on the surface and over the pot rim. Burying them can cause rot. Roots grow downward from beneath them.