r/ferns • u/Farty_Mcflyyy • 13h ago
ID Request Help with fern id?
Got this fella to put in a tropical terrarium, was told by another user to try posting here, said they think it looks a bit like a rabbits foot fern. I was informed to check for "a fuzzy rhizome" but am unsure what that'd look like. Any ID and advice for care would be massively appreciated as I'm very much a newbie with ferns!
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u/amccor2175 13h ago
That actually doesn't look like a fern to me. I'm pretty sure it is a variety of selaginella, which is a type of spike moss. Not well versed on the different kinds, though (maybe someone else can chime in for the specifics). In general, it needs high humidity and consistently moist soil. I have mine in a terrarium and it's doing well.
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u/Farty_Mcflyyy 12h ago
Gotcha that's actually really cool to hear! Itll be going in my terrarium setup soon!
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u/Anskar_ 1h ago
Decent chance of it being Selaginella moellendorffii, someone else said lepidophylla but that one grows from a central point in a rosette form, whereas yours I'm assuming is rhizomatous. Something characteristic of moellendorfii is the strobili (tiny pinecone looking things at the end of the shoots that produce spores) being modified into little dark nubs which serve as propagules, and I think I might be seeing some on your photo but I'm not certain.
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u/Spiegeleiqualle 13h ago
Absolutely not a rabbit foot fern. It’s some sort of selaginella, I‘d say.