Acrostichum bifurcatum Cav.

Naturalized Common staghorn fern, common elkhorn fern

Latin bi-, two, or twice, + furcatus, forked, in reference to the shape of the frond.

Sterile base fronds appressed to substrate, round to kidney-shaped, persistent, 15-30 cm diam., soon turning brown, upper margins sinuate or shallowly lobed. Fertile staghorn fronds erect, drooping on older fronds, narrowly wedge-shaped at bases, broadening upward, up to 1 m long, deep green, upper portions 2-3 x branched into somewhat unequal, strap-shaped seg-ments. Sporangia irregularly covering most oflower surfaces of ultimate lobe tips of fertile fronds, often extending around sinuses.

The most widespread species of Platycerium, P. bifurcatum is native to Australia, New Caledonia, New Guinea, and Lord Howe Island and is popular in horticulture. Localized on tree trunks and branches, usually near buildings in areas of high rainfall on O'ahu (Makiki Heights, middle and upper Nu'uanu Valley, and Lyon Arboretum in Manoa Valley), Maui ('Ulupalakua Ranch), and Hawai 'i (Hilo, along Banyan Drive). It was first collected growing wild on Maui in 1991.

Platycerium bifurcatum may be distinguished from P. superbum by sporangia spread over most of the ultimate lobe tips of fertile fronds.