Indigenous

Latin minutus, little, small, in reference to the frond size.

Rhizomes long-creeping, filamentous, less than 0.2 mm diam. Fronds mat-forming, appearing like moss, usually less than 1 cm apart, up to 1.5 cm long, upper rachises not proliferous. Stipe bases with minute blackish hairs. Blades round to fan-shaped, 0.5-1 x 0.4-0.7 cm, glabrous, deeply incised. Ultimate segments linear.

Common on mossy rocks and trees in mesic to wet, low-elevation forests, 90-650 m, all major islands.

Gonocormus minutus is part of a difficult taxonomic group found from Korea, Manchuria, Japan, China, Malaysia to Java, and depending on species definition it may have a wider distribution.

Gonocormus minutus may be recognized by its very small, round fronds growing in mats on trees or rocks, in moist, low-elevation forests. The smallest Hawaiian fern, it is easily overlooked when it grows intermixed with mosses and lichens.